The Manchester United Thread

steveorobbo said:
Are we all forgetting that we have just signed the top scorer from the eredivisie? He could just as easily play as a second striker if need be. That might even be why he was bought for all we know. We could have the next Thierry Henry here if all goes to plan
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Except Depay rarely, if ever, played as a lone forward last campaign.
 
steveorobbo said:
Are we all forgetting that we have just signed the top scorer from the eredivisie? He could just as easily play as a second striker if need be. That might even be why he was bought for all we know. We could have the next Thierry Henry here if all goes to plan

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Depay should be deployed as a wide forward. If he can be turned into a modern complete forward eventually then that would be amazing, but he is still learning, let him learn in a comfortable position first.
 
iNickStuff said:
We have Robin Van Persie. With the proper rotation, sans Falcao, it should be fine. A third forward can be compensated in Depay perhaps, but Van Persie will be getting the amount of games to satisfy his desire to play an important role for us, rather than sharing the load with a player who wants the same thing (Falcao) or plodding on the bench or in the reserves.
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I'm assuming RVP won't he here next season, that's why I am making the point of what I said. RVP perhaps deserves one more chance but I am no longer confident he can even do the job for us anymore.
 
zzeezzy said:
I'm assuming RVP won't he here next season, that's why I am making the point of what I said. RVP perhaps deserves one more chance but I am no longer confident he can even do the job for us anymore.
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But bringing in Tévez is going to bring on effectively similar problems. A proven forward, yes, but not getting any younger. He needs to be a mainstay in the line-up. Juventus can provide that, we can't necessarily.

In regards to being no longer confident in Van Persie; why? He will likely be here next season since his contract runs for just over a year, so paying a large fee now doesn't seem smart. He only managed one full start towards the end of the season, but otherwise still hit double figures in terms of goals scored.

Earlier in the season, when he did play early and often, United were not close to finding its feet personnel-wise or even tactically. Sometimes he would get an unfair share of blame when ultimately it needed to be levelled at everyone.
 
iNickStuff said:
Except Depay rarely, if ever, played as a lone forward last campaign.
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He wouldnt need to be a lone forward. I suspect this season that we are going to play more fluid with the front players interchanging. Depay will be coming in from the left to either support Rooney or, starting out upfront and then moving into channels to spread defenders, creating room for the likes of Di Maria, Mata, Herrera and Fellaini to exploit.

We'll know a lot more about his intended shape and formation on the tour but I think he's got Depay knowing full well he can play as a striker if needed. Especially if we are a lot more fluid and keeping the ball on the ground, rather than having a target man like Fellaini. Like I say I think he could be the next best thing to Thierry Henry in style. A few years as a winger cutting in supporting Rooney/RVP ect and then eventually start playing more as a striker.
 
steveorobbo said:
He wouldnt need to be a lone forward. I suspect this season that we are going to play more fluid with the front players interchanging. Depay will be coming in from the left to either support Rooney or, starting out upfront and then moving into channels to spread defenders, creating room for the likes of Di Maria, Mata, Herrera and Fellaini to exploit.

We'll know a lot more about his intended shape and formation on the tour but I think he's got Depay knowing full well he can play as a striker if needed. Especially if we are a lot more fluid and keeping the ball on the ground, rather than having a target man like Fellaini. Like I say I think he could be the next best thing to Thierry Henry in style. A few years as a winger cutting in supporting Rooney/RVP ect and then eventually start playing more as a striker.
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I would only have Depay as a last resort. Yes, he has the capacity to become a quality centre forward, but leave that for later when he has fully settled into the team and continued to perform well in his natural left wing position.

Teams tend to sit quite deep against us and, whilst there would be a lot of space to move into, we'll struggle for chances if there isn't a main forward who can attack directly or use a point of threat. Similar happened with Di María when he was deployed as a forward and we had to quickly change.
 
Very quiet on the United transfer front got to admit, logic tells me that should be a good thing but never can be so sure with Woody.
 
iNickStuff said:
I would only have Depay as a last resort. Yes, he has the capacity to become a quality centre forward, but leave that for later when he has fully settled into the team and continued to perform well in his natural left wing position.

Teams tend to sit quite deep against us and, whilst there would be a lot of space to move into, we'll struggle for chances if there isn't a main forward who can attack directly or use a point of threat. Similar happened with Di María when he was deployed as a forward and we had to quickly change.
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Why do people think Depay can play striker? When did Depay play striker?
 
zzeezzy said:
I'd say more like 2-3 weeks in reality if we want our signings ready for the start of the pre season tour.
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The tour starts on the 13th. They dont need to be ready, just there for the start
 
Mike. said:
Playing on/from the wing is very different to staying up front.
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If that was the case every top winger would be scoring 20+ league goals in a season. Trust me, this kid knows how to play as a striker.
 
steveorobbo said:
If that was the case every top winger would be scoring 20+ league goals in a season. Trust me, this kid knows how to play as a striker.
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Being able to come off your wing and score goals is inherently not the same thing as sitting up front and trying to score, you're making completely different runs, exploiting a different defender, attacking different space..

No idea what your first sentence even means, why would every top winger score 20 a season in the first place.

Saying this kid knows how to play striker when he has barely played it (particularly has someone who has watched him for 2 and a half years) is wrong. Could he learn to be one? who knows. But he is explictly not a striker now.
 
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John terry scored twice as many goals as Balotelli last season, Liverpool sign him and get him up front!!

Though I do know what Steverobbo means ;)
 
Mike. said:
Being able to come off your wing and score goals is inherently not the same thing as sitting up front and trying to score, you're making completely different runs, exploiting a different defender, attacking different space..

No idea what your first sentence even means, why would every top winger score 20 a season in the first place.

Saying this kid knows how to play striker when he has barely played it (particularly has someone who has watched him for 2 and a half years) is wrong. Could he learn to be one? who knows. But he is explictly not a striker now.
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You dont score 20+ league goals in a season without having a strikers instinct. When that ball is in and around the box, are you seriously telling me he doesnt get that strikers instinct and knows exactly what to do? I didnt see any out and out strikers outscoring him in the league last year.

Thierry Henry was always a left winger just like Depay, but he also had the ability to play as a striker, and Wenger noticed that. LVG has probably noticed this in Depay aswell.

As for my comment, i meant that if it was that easy to score goals from the left wing position then wouldnt more of the worlds top wingers be scoring close to that ammount? The answer is no, because they dont have the strikers instinct that Depay has. Do wingers not know how to exploit defenders? Attack space? Of course they can. And his goal tally proves he knows how to put the ball in the net. He outscored every single "striker" in the league last season, but he cant play as one?

Just because he doesnt start out as a striker on the little graphic line-up before a game doesnt mean he doesnt take up a strikers position in-play when he doesnt have the ball. If you have watched his games like you say you have then you know full well he doesnt stand on the left wing for 90 minutes. He's constantly in and around the box just like a striker would be. He's been making the runs and scoring the goals all season.
 
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