Why did we buy Fred?

[devilish]

That is another worrying thing. Most likely towards the end of the season top 4 fight would be do or die just like now. Then if matic or herrera were unavailable (touchwood) due to injury, suspension etc then relying on Fred to fill their shoes will be a huge risk. In my opinion he needs to get some time now when he can be replaced by matic or herrera when things are not going his way.

Actually I find the ferocious squad rotation used by mou as one of the main reasons of his downfall. Players need to play week in week out to keep their form and build the necessary teamwork needed to be effective. You knew SAF's XI was same as Ole's. Its then up to the squad player to take his limited chances and prove the manager wrong

 

[CM]

It wouldn't have done any harm to bring him on instead of Jones in the latter stages of the game yesterday. I can't claim to be hugely impressed by what I've seen of Fred so far but yesterday was as good an opportunity as any to give him some minutes with the 2 goal buffer.

 

[Adisa]

He will start against Burnley, you’d imagine.

If we can’t trust him in this sort of home game then I can’t see where he gets a start at all, to be honest.

Burnley are no mugs. He might give Pogba 60 minutes but I reckon he will play his strongest 11.

 

[Robertd0803]

What's a Fred?

 

[Kag]

Burnley are no mugs. He might give Pogba 60 minutes but I reckon he will play his strongest 11.

They’re not. But if we can’t give a game to Fred at home to Burnley then he might as well put his feet up for the rest of the season.

I’d like to see him start. Herrera and Matic have played plenty and we can bring whoever sits out back in away against Leicester (the arguably tricker game).

 

[tenpoless]

"A team without a Brazilian isn't a football team" the dumbest quote ever from Maureen.

 

[dia Maria]

Actually I find the ferocious squad rotation used by mou as one of the main reasons of his downfall. Players need to play week in week out to keep their form and build the necessary teamwork needed to be effective. You knew SAF's XI was same as Ole's. Its then up to the squad player to take his limited chances and prove the manager wrong

Wasn’t SAF notorious for a record streak of not naming an unchanged XI?

 

[Tiber]

Why did The Toxic One make Valencia captain then fall out with him 2 days later by attacking him in the media?

 

[Tony247]

"A team without a Brazilian isn't a football team" the dumbest quote ever from Maureen.

Then he went out and pick up the worse one among the lot. Now its up to us to be patient and groom him into a world class player. (nothing personal against Fred. Not his fault if someone wants to pay 50m for him)

 

[Seven Seas Sardines]

Why did The Toxic One make Valencia captain then fall out with him 2 days later by attacking him in the media?

The way Solskjaer is talking about the United captaincy I sincerely doubt he feels Valencia is adequate, and that Pogba will be given the armband once he signs a new contract. Him saying Valencia's the captain was merely for show and to not upset team spirit.

 

[izec]

The way Solskjaer is talking about the United captaincy I sincerely doubt he feels Valencia is adequate, and that Pogba will be given the armband once he signs a new contract. Him saying Valencia's the captain was merely for show and to not upset team spirit.

He wasnt talking about Ole though, but Jose.

 

[Charles Miller]

"A team without a Brazilian isn't a football team" the dumbest quote ever from Maureen.

I suspect he was trying to sign Alex Sandro when he said that.

 

[11101]

Actually I find the ferocious squad rotation used by mou as one of the main reasons of his downfall. Players need to play week in week out to keep their form and build the necessary teamwork needed to be effective. You knew SAF's XI was same as Ole's. Its then up to the squad player to take his limited chances and prove the manager wrong

You knew SAF's preferred team by who he played in particular games. He was notorious for his squad rotation in general.

 

[Seven Seas Sardines]

He wasnt talking about Ole though, but Jose.

I know, and I prefer to focus on the here and now. What we should focus on in this thread however is Fred. I really hope he gets his chance on Tuesday. If he doesn't get a chance in this game, he won't get one again unless we draw Shrewsbury in the FA Cup.

 

[KingOle]

His name is in the Ole at the wheel song. Well worth the money for the rhymes

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

Seems like Ole also isn't seeing much in Fred either, I'm a bit concerned about this signing to be honest. I'd be giving him 20mins against Burnley, though - bring off Matic for a rest, drop Herrera deeper.

 

[Johan07]

Lindelof was never a defender that would perform well under JM. He is not suited to defend sitting back and against crosses, and considering one of his strengths is his ability on the ball it was never a good match.

I wrote off Fred before we signed him. Still don't understand why we bought him, beside City wanting him which i did not understand either.

But isnt the argument exactly the same for Fred?
He was never a midfielder to fit into Mourinhos system either.
And you could question why we/Mourinho bought him as well considering this.
Fred is a high energy player with one of his major strengths in his pressing game, which was non-existent under Mourinho for any player. Offensively he is much better in a possession-oriented team like Shakhtar or like what OGS is trying us to be now.
As with Lindelof he needs the same opportunity to prove himself and considering that Mourinho threw away half of this season we might actually have to give him even more time.
We are eight games in under OGS, its kinda like a new season tbf. He will get his chances and I am sure he will perform better under OGS, when that time comes.
I perfectly understand that Ole has wanted to play a settled midfield the first games adopting a completely different way to play football. It does not have to mean that he does not rate Fred at all.

 

[Eleven-Eighteen]

ah. the monthly bump up

 

[Rimur]

What's a Fred?

My wife visits the China Manchester United fansite and apparently, Fred is generally called a mascot.

 

[devilish]

You knew SAF's preferred team by who he played in particular games. He was notorious for his squad rotation in general.

He engaged in squad rotation when players needed rest not out of Lulz. I think that's a very wise thing to do. As long as there's meritocracy, a regular first team will help players bond with one another and adapt to each other strengths and weaknesses. It would also give players an idea of were they stand with the manager, who are the players ahead of them in the pecking order and what they need to do to beat 'competition'

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

I'm hoping he plays against Burnley. He could slot into the role Herrera plays, as its a very similar role to the one he played at Shakhtar.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Use him as the mascot for the next few weeks, give the poor guy inside Fred the Red some time off, he deserves it.

Or give him some game time and see what he's about.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Or give him some game time and see what he's about.

That time has gone for this season, I'm afraid all of our games are too important to throw in players to see if they perform. He might get a few minutes if he makes the subs bench and we are comfortably winning. But I wouldn't start him or trust him to have an effect from the bench when needed.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

That time has gone for this season, I'm afraid all of our games are too important to throw in players to see if they perform. He might get a few minutes if he makes the subs bench and we are comfortably winning. But I wouldn't start him or trust him to have an effect from the bench when needed.

You know I was talking about the man inside Fred the red, right? He could be a decent player.

 

[Revan]

Hope he starts next game, instead of Herrera who run an Iron Man last match and might be very tired.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

But isnt the argument exactly the same for Fred?
He was never a midfielder to fit into Mourinhos system either.
And you could question why we/Mourinho bought him as well considering this.
Fred is a high energy player with one of his major strengths in his pressing game, which was non-existent under Mourinho for any player. Offensively he is much better in a possession-oriented team like Shakhtar or like what OGS is trying us to be now.
As with Lindelof he needs the same opportunity to prove himself and considering that Mourinho threw away half of this season we might actually have to give him even more time.
We are eight games in under OGS, its kinda like a new season tbf. He will get his chances and I am sure he will perform better under OGS, when that time comes.
I perfectly understand that Ole has wanted to play a settled midfield the first games adopting a completely different way to play football. It does not have to mean that he does not rate Fred at all.

Freds is a high energy pressing player as you say, but based on the little we have seen from him he is pressing in a similar way to Sanchez. Running around like a headless chicken and diving into tackles in situations when he should contain. I agree with you that Fred would fit better into the style we play now compared to how we played under Mourinho(Only Ents was suited to that style of play), but he has to many bad habits in his game to outweigh the positives. He is inconsistent. If he was a winger, then being inconsistent is not the biggest issue as unpredictability can be an asset, but playing as a CM/CDM with clear defensive duties it is not a positive thing. He seems to lack awareness over his surroundings when he is on the ball, leading to situations where he loses the ball and we get caught or can get caught unbalanced. His passing is often high risk from positions they should not be(Xhaka) and his ability to pass the ball is not predictable. One moment the pass is difficult and perfectly weighted, the next he hits an easy pass a little to hard or not easy to receive. The same can be said about his touch; one moment perfect, the next moment heavy. For me these elements are not part of "needs time to adjust to the league" type of problems, these are fundamental flaws in his game. Flaws typical for players with little experience and at a young age, not a 25 year old player with over 200 games at senior level.

 

[SinNombre]

Burnley are no mugs. He might give Pogba 60 minutes but I reckon he will play his strongest 11.

Agreed. Burnley are game raisers at OT. Start with the best xi.


As for Fred, both Jose and Pep wanted him so there is a player in him. Preseason next summer is the time to find that player, not now.

 

[Devil may care]

Next time Ole decides to switch his midfield up he'll surely get a chance after Pereira's performance tonight anf with the tree seemingly off to China.

 

[BrianMcClair'sBarnet]

Why did we buy Fred ?
To try and make a profit on him from some Chinese club.
Ok,maybe not.

 

[el3mel]

If seems like no one trusts him at all in the club. This makes this signing even worse. I'm not a fan anyway and won't have a problem with selling him but what was the point then if we don't even trust him for rotation ? That's a big money wasted.

 

[Unitedssss]

Why would we pay 50 million for an unproven footballer that played in the Ukrainian league. A very unwise decision made by Mourinho, we desperately need a couple of good squad-rotation footballers as we only have McTominay, Fred and Andreas Pereira to replace Matic, Hererra and Pogba when needed time to rest/experiment.

 

[RedMilo]

Its a bit like the Kleberson signing, it seems we wanted him because others apparently wanted him, but he looks very raw. My early opinion is he hasn't got the composure or mentality for United

 

[Hugh Jass]

Doesnt look good if Andreas is in ahead of him. Might get his chance now though.

 

[kouroux]

We're obsessed with City, that's why

 

[Canagel]

With Fellaini out of the picture it should pave the way for some more gametime for Fred. When he gets he chance hope he takes it and doesn't look back.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Fans in Brazil were pretty pissed when he got called up for the World Cup, and generally couldn't understand why we bought him. Make of that what you will.

 

[Tony247]

I am losing hope on Fred as Ole doesn't seem to have faith in him.

Team was struggling, hardly able to control the ball in midfield, usual 11 had tired legs, some literally giving their last drop of blood for the club and yet manager doesn't seem Fred is worthy enough to come on, giving helping hand and steady the midfield.

Looking at the matches lined up I don't think he will get a chance in Feb.

 

[MadDogg]

Looking at the matches lined up I don't think he will get a chance in Feb.

I expect him to start against Fulham, and then (as long as he's half decent in that match) again against either Crystal Palace or Southampton. If he's poor against Fulham then we might drop down to McTominay in those later matches.

 

[Ban]

We're obsessed with City, that's why

You really think we bought him cause of that?

 

[VorZakone]

Fans in Brazil were pretty pissed when he got called up for the World Cup, and generally couldn't understand why we bought him. Make of that what you will.

Is that really the general consensus?