Why did we buy Fred?

[the_irish123]

If we payed 50m for Idrissa Gueye, it would be the same. Was watching him today and they play exactly the same. Which isnt bad, but its not great either. Tbf if you put Gueye in Ukraine he looks amazing so its hard to jusge

 

[Im red2]

You will find that out later.

 

[BULB]

Fred doesn't seem to have much tenacity or size, not really a Mourinho player.

Wanted a RW or CB and ended up with Fred.

 

[#07]

I think Fred was bought to be a third midfielder to play alongisde Pogba. However, Jose's preference is for 4-2-3-1 with a double pivot. He only went to 4-3-3 because he thought it'd 'unlock' Pogba. Now Pogba's playing well in a deeper role for Mou, just as he does for Deschamps, it leaves Fred as a spare man.

 

[red4ever 79]

If we payed 50m for Idrissa Gueye, it would be the same. Was watching him today and they play exactly the same. Which isnt bad, but its not great either. Tbf if you put Gueye in Ukraine he looks amazing so its hard to jusge

This is the guy I keep hyping up. Everytime I see him I am overly impressed. Looks to be a good player who can be developed even more. Back to the Fred situation, let's see. If he still isnt getting game time around January time then there would be cause for concern. He is basically competing for 1 slot in a midfield 3 as Matic and Pogba are nailed on starters. He is competing with Herrera, Fellaini, McTominnay, Perriera and Mata, so not an easy task for him

 

[Eric's Seagull]

Why the feck can't we just buy players, slot them into the team and get results for money spent. How many more 50 mill aquisitions are we taking on board as "squad players" Can't we just admit we're shit on the transfer market!

Think it is because Ed is calling shots which in my opinion shows we need to get a good Director of Football in as soon as possible.

 

[Andy_Cole]

Not a clue - to stop City buying him?

I genuinely thought we had a plan for him, that he would slot into a three man midfield, dictating play next to Matic perhaps, with Pogba pushing forward. Instead he has been played further up the pitch in a 'headless chicken' (AKA Park, Lingard) sort of role. Seems perhaps more of competition for Lingard for a defensive right winger than a passing midfielder that I wanted.

Right now he is quite behind in the pecking order.

 

[groovyalbert]

If we payed 50m for Idrissa Gueye, it would be the same. Was watching him today and they play exactly the same. Which isnt bad, but its not great either. Tbf if you put Gueye in Ukraine he looks amazing so its hard to jusge

It would probably take more than £50m for us to get Gueye too.

 

[groovyalbert]

for Ed to annoy Jose

 

[BrianMcClair'sBarnet]

'He doesn't look like a Jose type player'.Now I hear this alot but when it comes to our new boy Fred I think people,who say/type such things,do generally have a point.

Its not about the size of the player either,as is the case when people comment on Jose's signings .
Its the type of player that he is.He's too nice.He doesn't seem aggressive or street-smart enough.

I re-watched the goal Rudiger scored on Saturday,while also watching highlights of United legend Nemanja Vidic,and one thing was apparent and that was the aggression and determination of them.
Rudiger wanted that header and he worked for it.He didn't stand there waiting.Which alot of our players unfortunately do.
Not only do I think our players lack a certain amount of determination I also think our players in general are just too soft.
As we've seen over the years they can be comfortably bullied by the opposition.

 

[SidRed]

Jeez, some people need to calm down. Fred will start against Juve.

 

[Judas]

Jeez, some people need to calm down. Fred will start against Juve.

Now that would be a surprise with how little game time he's had. I doubt he'll even make the bench.

 

[That'sHernandez]

Not a clue - to stop City buying him?

I genuinely thought we had a plan for him, that he would slot into a three man midfield, dictating play next to Matic perhaps, with Pogba pushing forward. Instead he has been played further up the pitch in a 'headless chicken' (AKA Park, Lingard) sort of role. Seems perhaps more of competition for Lingard for a defensive right winger than a passing midfielder that I wanted.

Right now he is quite behind in the pecking order.

More of a Park/Fletcher replacement than a Lingard one. There's no shame in being a harrying-ball winner who also supports attacks, that's not being a headless chicken because there is a clear aim to their play. Frankly someone to play that role adeptly is something we have needed probably since Fletcher became ill, there's been a lack of urgency and ability to win the ball back in the midfield of a long time.

It's a shame Fred hasn't featured more to be honest because I think he's largely put in decent performances so far.

 

[Cee90]

I like his energy and drive in midfield. He is a bit similar to Herrera in that regard IMO.

Happy to have him on our books anyway, and I think we will start to see the best of him later on in the season.

 

[sunama]

Makes no sense. Has to be given a game sometime, thats the whole point of easing him in, just because he played a few games still doesnt mean he's fully trusted. See Mkhitaryan

Jose did trust Miki. He eased him in, but in the 2nd season, despite playing him in every match, Miki played badly. Many fans on this forum were asking why Jose is repeatedly playing such a bad player. Soon after, Jose lost patience and gave up on him.

In the case of Fred, people need to understand that he is coming from a very very poor quality league.
He may have cost a lot, but he is a squad player. Unfortunately, in 2018, £50M is about the going rate for a decent player, of good age, with many years left on his contract.

 

[sunama]

Nah SAF was a god. He would have known that Fred, Mkhitaryan, Bailly, Lindelof etc wouldn't have worked out. So he wouldn't have signed them.

Well, he didn't know that the likes of Obertan, Djemba x 2, Forlan, Veron (very expensive player), etc weren't going to make it, either.
Regardless of who the manager is, some signings work out. Some don't.
What I am against is signing these players on huge salaries, so in the event that they don't work out, we are stuck with them.

 

[Johan07]

Well, he didn't know that the likes of Obertan, Djemba x 2, Forlan, Veron (very expensive player), etc weren't going to make it, either.
Regardless of who the manager is, some signings work out. Some don't.
What I am against is signing these players on huge salaries, so in the event that they don't work out, we are stuck with them.

Yeah, very true. Transfer fees are overrated, its the wage bill that is really important.
People should get off this narrative that the transfer fee is a cost or "spent money". It is an investment. It can turn out to be a good or bad one. It has very little to do with the owners or Eds will to "spend" money.
In todays market the real cost for the is the wages as long as i) the transfer market does not implode, ii) the player underperforms on the level of Di Maria, or iii) the player is of an age that his value will drop because of that. Like a Willian for example; that would be a real cost for the club if we would have paid 60m or whatever crazy amount that was being thrown around. And for everyone of those cases there is a Pogba; who is probably worth much more today then when we bought him and has cost os less in wages compared to that increase in asset value.
Our "problem" is that we have the largest wage bill in the PL and are placed 10.

 

[BrianMcClair'sBarnet]

Jose needs to do what Fergie did and employ spies.

 

[Eleven-Eighteen]

What we needed was a player who can dictate midfield. Pogba clearly doesn't have the footballing intelligence to be able to do it (though he certainly has the skill). Fred is just a classic protector/ destroyer CDM but without a third midfield player like Carrick in his prime or Pirlo at Juventus, Pogba is left exposed and Fred just doesn't cut it. If Matic had more range in his passing, we'd be golden...but alas pieces continue to be missing in our midfield.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Probably a desperation tactic as we needed some action in the window and couldn't land any of first choices.

What we needed was a player who can dictate midfield. Pogba clearly doesn't have the footballing intelligence to be able to do it (though he certainly has the skill). Fred is just a classic protector/ destroyer CDM but without a third midfield player like Carrick in his prime or Pirlo at Juventus, Pogba is left exposed and Fred just doesn't cut it. If Matic had more range in his passing, we'd be golden...but alas pieces continue to be missing in our midfield.

Fred is way too similar to Pogba. We need a passer from the deep to complement and push Pogba to operate lot forward.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Think he'll become a first team regular to be honest - he's a bit headless but has got the dynamism/technical ability to be very good. Think he'd work v well paired with Pereira in a CM 2 as long as they had a decent DM to support.

 

[Hedgehog72]

How can he settle into the team when we constantly change formation and starting XI. If Fred was worth investing that kind of money on, give him a run in the team. Same applies to Sanchez.

 

[Craig Ward]

Because he is stepping up from such an inferiour league. There are so many players that are considered stars in the PL now that did not have the best of starts either: Otamendi, Firmino and even fecking de Bruyne (on his return to the PL) are just a few. He needs this season and one more until we can judge him.

I agree Fred needs time - but I'd rather we played him and he got game time than watching fellaini game after game......

We also took an age to introduce Miki and look what happened to him.....also Linelof was played and quickly dropped and hasn't looked decent since.

We are buying quality players - just not using them correctly.

Miki was a player of the year in Germany, couldn't settle. Lindelof was of Europe's highly rated young CB's - yet they come here and they don't get game time early on and struggle to establish themselves moving forward.

I hope we play Fred more - if only to give him confidence

 

[starman]

Jose did trust Miki. He eased him in, but in the 2nd season, despite playing him in every match, Miki played badly. Many fans on this forum were asking why Jose is repeatedly playing such a bad player. Soon after, Jose lost patience and gave up on him.

In the case of Fred, people need to understand that he is coming from a very very poor quality league.
He may have cost a lot, but he is a squad player. Unfortunately, in 2018, £50M is about the going rate for a decent player, of good age, with many years left on his contract.

Right and thats my point (original) on spending large amounts on squad players that need to be eased in when there are proven options available and adapted already to this league. Imo should have gone for Doucoure instead of Fred.

As for Miki, hes not a bad player just lazy, dont regret taking the risk in buying him, as he was not very expensive and the potential was there for all to see

 

[meninred]

This question should be directed to Mouriniho.i honestly dont know the answer.Not only he doesnot play but two acadamy players appear ahead of him.
a money truly spent.

 

[Ekeke]

If we payed 50m for Idrissa Gueye, it would be the same. Was watching him today and they play exactly the same. Which isnt bad, but its not great either. Tbf if you put Gueye in Ukraine he looks amazing so its hard to jusge

Gueye makes the most tackles in the league.

He's not like Fred.

Fred makes the 8th most tackles out of United players who have played more than once this season (9th if we include Darmian with 1 appearance)

Gueye makes over 4 times as many tackles as Fred and exactly twice as many interceptions. But half as many key passes compared to Fred.

So clearly they are very different players.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

How can he settle into the team when we constantly change formation and starting XI. If Fred was worth investing that kind of money on, give him a run in the team. Same applies to Sanchez.

Sanchez had a long run in the team and played like shit for most of it. We have other players who deserved to get a chance instead of him.

Fred hasn't really been given a chance yet, though.

 

[the_irish123]

Gueye makes the most tackles in the league.

He's not like Fred.

Fred makes the 8th most tackles out of United players who have played more than once this season (9th if we include Darmian with 1 appearance)

Gueye makes over 4 times as many tackles as Fred and exactly twice as many interceptions. But half as many key passes compared to Fred.

So clearly they are very different players.

I’d like to see him in a midfield two though, with Matic behind him (maybe in a game to rest Pogba) He still hasnt played in his more favored set up.

 

[99withaflake]

We're still in October, Fred has moved to a new country and previously played in a very average league. Far too early to be reading much into this. If he's not playing regularly by the end of the season, then that would be the right time to question his role and future etc

 

[bosnian_red]

Would think he could at least be subbed on in a situation like this

 

[Skills]

He's one of Mourinho's usual signings who gets to sit on the bench all year until he fellates him in public or something. See Mkhitaryan in his first season.

 

[acnumber9]

He's one of Mourinho's usual signings who gets to sit on the bench all year until he fellates him in public or something. See Mkhitaryan in his first season.

Mkhitaryan should’ve been left on the bench longer.

 

[Minimalist]

Forgotten about him at this stage.

 

[youmeletsfly]

It s early days for him, still doesn t speak English.

 

[Gopher Brown]

He's one of Mourinho's usual signings who gets to sit on the bench all year until he fellates him in public or something. See Mkhitaryan in his first season.

I don’t remember that, was it in the MEN?

 

[Josep Dowling]

Matic was shite all game, always giving the ball away.

Didn’t track Dybala’s run twice in the first half which lead to him scoring.

Then we have Fred on the bench with pace and stamina to burn and didn’t play at the weekend. I say again why the feck did we pay £50m for a player that we don’t use?

Sick of Mourinho now. Everything he does is just odd. Sticks with Matic and Lukaku all season even though they have been our worst performers.

Buys two players in the summer and neither get used regularly, then moans he doesn’t get backed. Well don’t waste £70m on two players you don’t use you absolute numpty, maybe Woodward would trust you with more money.

 

[walkinhop]

What do you mean? Fred the Red!!!

 

[Jeppers7]

Waste of £70 million on the summer Jose ffs

 

[spwd]

It s early days for him, still doesn t speak English.

What’s that got to do with anything, Valencia doesn’t either and he’s been here far too fecking long.

 

[bleedred]

Mkhi MKII