Why did we buy Fred?

[Aloysius's Back 3]

In my opinion - the reason he possibly struggles is because he isn't as defensively capable as Herrera. He was probably bought to play alongside Pogba but playing those 2 together is dangerous.

When Pogba is out - I expect him to get some games.

 

[kouroux]

In my opinion - the reason he possibly struggles is because he isn't as defensively capable as Herrera. He was probably bought to play alongside Pogba but playing those 2 together is dangerous.

When Pogba is out - I expect him to get some games.

Do you think he will play vs PSG ? I doubt but there is nothing to lose huh ?

 

[Sterling Archer]

Do you think he will play vs PSG ? I doubt but there is nothing to lose huh ?

I'd have said yes without hesitation except that he hasnt been involved at all for some time . Is it because he's been given compassionate leave to be with the newborn or something?

 

[Litch]

How do you know he was honest about Fred when he never said negative thing to our players ? Jose Mourinho was so hated here because he actually said negative thing about your favourite player but that also means he is an honest manager. Ole's action speak louder than his words , even Dalot , Pereira and Mctominay has more minutes than Fred under him, Ole even praise Darmian against Reading but we don't see him anymore on the pitch till today , what he said on Fred means nothing. He watch him on training field almost everyday and decide he isn't good enough to start , if Fred want to revive his career he would ask for transfer this summer.

Matic has been slow since his title winning season with Chelsea , He was never a mobile player to begin with , but you won't be able to name a single manager that doesn't like him because maybe they didn't rate him only by his pace. Regular Football fans only rate pace / agility as an attribute a footballer must have , they can't see any other qualities. I still laugh at how everyone thought Pereira or Fred would immediately replace him on starting eleven after Jose was sacked. Shows how shallow their knowledge about football is.

Jose....honest manager?
Love how when someone wants to make their point of view, they dismiss what Ole says that doesn't support their argument as a lie yet everything else becomes is true. It's funny how people equate time on the pitch to how much a manager rates players and this simply isn't true. You telling me when Pogba and Martial was sat on the bench, Jose didn't rate him? You telling me when Scott started in front of him, he rated him higher?
Fred situation is the same as players like Rom, Sanchez and others sat on the bench where immediately the focus is on why they are starting and we forget the players that are, are playing really well. Whilst Ole has messed around with CB pairings, the midfield 3 has pretty much been left along and rightly so because they have been superb.
I honestly think Ole didn't think it would be going so well and his plans to even give youth team players the opportunity for game time has been sidelined for now.
I'm no Fred fan boy and barely watched him aside from CL games but for me I try to be balanced and at least make my judgement on a player once I've had enough time to watch him play. I dismiss the Jose era will all the players as the toxicity of that time it was almost impossible to play under. I'll be interested to see how Fred plays when he gets his chance cause he will do....

 

[FootyGirl88]

In my opinion - the reason he possibly struggles is because he isn't as defensively capable as Herrera. He was probably bought to play alongside Pogba but playing those 2 together is dangerous.

When Pogba is out - I expect him to get some games.

I think it will be Pereira or McTominay that will come in when Pogba is out.

 

[Litch]

I think the problem is we don't know why Jose bought him. Jose clearly liked Scott, Matic and even Fellaini but he must have been told he would play as I'm sure that he never came to sit on the bench at that time. Nothing standstill in football for long, injured in training before WC, didn't feature during it. Came into Utd at one of the most toxic periods in the club for decades with a power dynamic being played out between Jose and some of the players. No doubt struggled like most to come to terms with this league, style of play etc and personal stuff like having your first child which some of us can be emphatic about who have worked in a different country. It takes time to adjust irrespective of how much they are playing you.

Jose's gone and in principle all the players are starting from a clean slate which most have embraced. I genuinely think Ole didn't think it would go so well and now we are in the top 4 and navigated Arsenal and Chelsea in the cup, there are players that are undroppable once fit. The 3 midfielders are, aside from bit parts of players coming on late in games. Not sure them getting 5- 10mins at the end of a game indicates any pecking order.

I don't expect Fred to start cause there are 3 others currently better than him. No different that any other of the top teams with millions of pounds on the bench inc us in Rom and Sanchez who have only currently started due to injuries.....

 

[Maccataq]

How do you know he was honest about Fred when he never said negative thing to our players ? Jose Mourinho was so hated here because he actually said negative thing about your favourite player but that also means he is an honest manager. Ole's action speak louder than his words , even Dalot , Pereira and Mctominay has more minutes than Fred under him, Ole even praise Darmian against Reading but we don't see him anymore on the pitch till today , what he said on Fred means nothing. He watch him on training field almost everyday and decide he isn't good enough to start , if Fred want to revive his career he would ask for transfer this summer.

Matic has been slow since his title winning season with Chelsea , He was never a mobile player to begin with , but you won't be able to name a single manager that doesn't like him because maybe they didn't rate him only by his pace. Regular Football fans only rate pace / agility as an attribute a footballer must have , they can't see any other qualities. I still laugh at how everyone thought Pereira or Fred would immediately replace him on starting eleven after Jose was sacked. Shows how shallow their knowledge about football is.

I don't judge players by their pace; I see his other qualities and clearly he is playing better under Ole because he is a good distributor but a massive issue for our defence under Jose was the lack of movement ahead of him meaning he took too many touches and slowed our game down so our attacks were easy to defend against. Add to that because he hasn't been an effective defensive screen, it put pressure on a back 4 lacking confidence and finally, Jose wasn't playing Herrera enough to give that balance but rather playing other players like Fellaini who also lacked mobility. When he was at Chelsea he had Kante to do the running and he relies on Herrera now. Chelsea knew he was on the decline and decided to let him go (albeit perhaps a season too soon).

We don't have an obvious deputy for Matic and that needs to be addressed unless McTominay can step up but not convinced by him yet.

 

[Red00012]

the biggest dilemma we have over Fred is do we keep him or replace him in the song once he leaves?

can Ole find a one syllabled replacement in the same window? Or perhaps we can get away with 'Dave'?

This is a huge dilemma not to be taken lightly

 

[extincti fugax hominum]

I didn't lose my hope with him. We only saw him in a handful of games and he's labelled as shit. People are way too quick to jump into the conclusions when judging players and what to do with them. I agree with posts that say he's come to the club in the worst possible time. Manager was at war with directors, some players etc. and sacked midway through the season. Then the coming manager needed to steady the ship and preferred the more established players to do that and rightly so. This season is not the one to judge him imo. Let's wait and see him in a more comfortable environment and then decide what to do with him.

 

[ManchesterYoda]

Fred this season so far (played 45 mins +)

6.7 - 76 mins home to Leicester
6.0 - 90 mins away at Brighton
6.6 - 90 mins home to Tottenham
6.8 - 69 mins away at Young Boys
7.9 - 63 mins home to Wolves (MoM)
6.9 - 90 mins home to Everton
6.8 - 56 mins away at Bournemouth
7.0 - 64 mins home to Young Boys
6.0 - 57 mins away at Valencia
6.6 - 53 mins home to Huddersfield

Not awful, but definitely not a £50 million player as of yet. An average of below 7 is not good enough for Manchester United, so he needs to improve. Would be great if he could deliver his first 8/10 performance today against the scousers!

 

[Canagel]

matic possibly out for 1 month. his chance has arrived.

 

[tenpoless]

I know an IT consultant who looks like him and doesn't like football. I'm pretty sure They're the same person, They both can't play!

 

[harms]

I may be in minority, but I don't even thing that he had been playing awful when given the chance. He clearly failed to impress Ole in training though.

 

[reddaz71]

Mourinho buying average players to aid him in his quest for a pay off, Fred being one of them...

 

[sullydnl]

I may be in minority, but I don't even thing that he had been playing awful when given the chance. He clearly failed to impress Ole in training though.

Aye. Given how willing Ole has been to trust players Mourinho didn't, not being trusted by either of them is probably a sign that Fred is doing something wrong.

 

[Devil81]

He's clearly not good enough, he lacks any sort of discipline and he's struggled with the pace of the league. I had high hopes but it serves to show you have to be careful buying from the smaller leagues even if they throw in the odd decent performance in the Champions League.

I'd be very surprised if he wasn't sold in the summer.

 

[Intilo]

matic possibly out for 1 month. his chance has arrived.

No , He is Pogba Replacement not Matic.

 

[afrocentricity]

All the posters that are surprised he isn't in the 11, would you have put him in for Matic? The guy has barely played in months. At least Tommy has played recently... It's not that deep. I'm not surprised he isn't starting...

 

[Canagel]

No , He is Pogba Replacement not Matic.

It doesn't matter. it's one midfielder less which pushes him further up in the pecking order. I expect to see some sub appearances at the very least.

 

[Ekeke]

All the posters that are surprised he isn't in the 11, would you have put him in for Matic? The guy has barely played in months. At least Tommy has played recently... It's not that deep. I'm not surprised he isn't starting...

Yes.

With Ander playing Matic's role and Fred playing on the right.

If he cant come in as first replacement for our midfield 3 when Matic is injured or Pogba is suspended, then he truly was the worst signing of the summer

 

[afrocentricity]

Yes.

With Ander playing Matic's role and Fred playing on the right.

If he cant come in as first replacement for our midfield 3 when Matic is injured or Pogba is suspended, then he truly was the worst signing of the summer

Nah. You're advocating dropping him in one of our biggest game after having played no games in how long? You're shuffling the midfield to get him in too? When you could just replace Matic with Tommy (who has played recently, and as good as anything we've seen from Fred recently) and keep things more or less the same.

Sounds like you're picking based on names imo...

 

[Ekeke]

Nah. You're advocating dropping him in one of our biggest game after having played no games in how long? You're shuffling the midfield to get him in too? When you could just replace Matic with Tommy (who has played recently, and as good as anything we've seen from Fred recently) and keep things more or less the same.

Sounds like you're picking based on names imo...

Dropping who? McTominay? He isnt a starter in the first place

I'm picking based on who's quality I have seen and leaving those out where I havent seen enough. Oh and making use of our big summer signing. Because he either needs to be useful or sold

 

[afrocentricity]

Dropping who? McTominay? He isnt a starter in the first place

I'm picking based on who's quality I have seen and leaving those out where I havent seen enough. Oh and making use of our big summer signing. Because he either needs to be useful or sold

Dropping him in = playing him. 'Making use of our big summer signing'? Yes picking based on names

 

[Ekeke]

Dropping him in = playing him. 'Making use of our big summer signing?' Yes picking based on names

No based on experience especially in big games - hes used to playing better teams than hes in, with the champions league

McTominay has barely played and when he has he hasn't looked better than Cleverley

 

[Tony247]

Fred was our marquee signee last summer. Great planning by everyone

 

[FujiVice]

He'll be gone in the summer. People who know him were surprised he was linked with United and City in the summer. Solskjaer gave everyone a fresh start when he came here and he still cant break into this side.

 

[afrocentricity]

No based on experience especially in big games - hes used to playing better teams than hes in, with the champions league

McTominay has barely played and when he has he hasn't looked better than Cleverley

Listen we have easier games to start reintroducing Fred into a new system. I'm with Ole on this one. I wouldn't have minded him starting, but I can understand why he hasn't. My nerves would be shredded all the same anyway...

 

[Rocknrolla69er]

Fred’s simply a victim of Herreras good form, nothing more nothing less

While Herreras playing his socks off in the role he’s occupying why change him about keep him there

 

[Dan_F]

Yes.

With Ander playing Matic's role and Fred playing on the right.

If he cant come in as first replacement for our midfield 3 when Matic is injured or Pogba is suspended, then he truly was the worst signing of the summer

Would imagine he is giving Ander a specific role, or didn’t want to sacrifice him from the position he’s been doing so well in.

 

[Bastian]

All the posters that are surprised he isn't in the 11, would you have put him in for Matic? The guy has barely played in months. At least Tommy has played recently... It's not that deep. I'm not surprised he isn't starting...

I'm not surprised he's not starting, but I'd have him in there ahead of Mata, just for the energy.

 

[Devil may care]

Neither Fred or McTominay have played much at all, it's going in cold for either of them, so I think it tells you how little Ole and the staff think of Fred that a seasoned International and CL footballer can't get in over a kid who's barely played and never really shown anything.

 

[afrocentricity]

I'm not surprised he's not starting, but I'd have him in there ahead of Mata, just for the energy.

Fair enough, Mata to score now. But for real Mata in the hole is good. Hope that's where he's playing....

 

[Andycoleno9]

Playing Mctominay is a new low for Fred. I can accept that he is not in first 11 but to be basically 6th option in midfield is not looking good for him.

 

[lilcurt]

Playing Mctominay is a new low for Fred. I can accept that he is not in first 11 but to be basically 6th option in midfield is not looking good for him.

It gets worse for him... Doesn't come on after the injury either.

 

[steakpie]

He is miles better than Scott McTominary and Pereira. Wtf OGS.

 

[Stacks]

He must be really poor. To be 6th choice and behind academy players who themselves may be sold soon

 

[Skills]

He'll be gone in the summer. People who know him were surprised he was linked with United and City in the summer. Solskjaer gave everyone a fresh start when he came here and he still cant break into this side.

He didn't really. Him, Carrick and McKenna decided their best XI from the first game and that has never changed. Everyone else from that moment has fed on scraps.

Tbf we've been winning, but it just means that now we're fecked with injuries the rest of the squad is heavily undercooked.

 

[K2K]

Has to play against PSG. Shucks

 

[GloryHunter07]

Has Ole actually said anything about Fred?

 

[K2K]

He didn't really. Him, Carrick and McKenna decided their best XI from the first game and that has nerve changed. Everyone else from that moment has fed on scraps.

But the first team have kept themselves in the 11. Rightfully so.