The Manchester United Thread

zaid 92 said:
anyone else notice valencia reverting back to no.25? possible new major signing for the no.7
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If Valencia doesn't improve his game I don't see how his old number will be of any help. From what I've seen so far if Nani doesn't perform well I wouldn't mind switching to a narrow 4-3-1-2/4-1-3-2 formation without wingers. Especially with all the talent we've got upfront and in AMC.
 
Mike. said:
Woah, Ando only solid going forwards, non existent in defence. Zaha was good, tried a bit too hard, but also caused them no end of trouble, they started doubling up on him after just 7 minutes. He will go from strength to strength.

Agreed about Welbeck, very good game.

Players are still getting upto speed, and will be for a bit, which makes our tough start even tougher.
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We do not have better option than Ando for Carrick partnership. Yes, he's bad defensive, but so is Cleverley.
 
Again, yes he's better in defense. But his positioning is still bad.
 
Vanjagl said:
Again, yes he's better in defense. But his positioning is still bad.
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Which is hardly going to improve should Anderson start ahead of him - which is very unlikely. Cleverley retains better awareness than him.
 
I would still prefer Anderson, he gas more flair and he's more creative.
 
GodCubed said:
But he's a defensive liability, drifts in and out of games, and will get injured after 3 games anyway.
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You can say the same thing for Cleverley too.
And why the **** do I agrue about Anderson over Cleverley? They're both not good enough, **** them.
 
Vanjagl said:
You can say the same thing for Cleverley too.
And why the **** do I agrue about Anderson over Cleverley? They're both not good enough, **** them.
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Think it'd be harsh to say that about Cleverley. He's improving all the time defensively - and is already better than Ando - always plays at a good tempo, and doesn't get injured anywhere near as much as Anderson.
 
GodCubed said:
Think it'd be harsh to say that about Cleverley. He's improving all the time defensively - and is already better than Ando - always plays at a good tempo, and doesn't get injured anywhere near as much as Anderson.
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I would say Cleverley is the same type of player as Milner. Nothing our of ordinary, but still does basic stuff relatively good. I still think Anderson has better potential and could be better player if he can stay fit and play 20-25 games this season.
 
Vanjagl said:
I would say Cleverley is the same type of player as Milner. Nothing our of ordinary, but still does basic stuff relatively good. I still think Anderson has better potential and could be better player if he can stay fit and play 20-25 games this season.
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I think 5 would be more realistic.
 
I don't entirely agree Ando is weaker defensively in every aspect of it. As a whole - probably, but Ando's got the ability to out-muscle opponents and win the ball which he showed in the Sevilla game. I don't think same can be said about Cleverley (Ramires header at Stamford Bridge). Anyway doesn't matter much as each of them don't deserve to be preferred over Carrick and the potential future midfielder(s) (fingers crossed).
 
View attachment 376686

Danny Welbeck gives Manchester United creative options with his passing
  • England striker could be an alternative to Wayne Rooney
  • First United goal could be a pointer to tactics under David Moyes


| The Guardian | Sport | Football | Football tactics |
Michael ***

For the first time in 27 years Manchester United are starting a season with a new manager but few significant changes were detectable on the pitch, where their shape and strategy looked almost unchanged from the Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Wilfried Zaha was the only newcomer in David Moyes' first starting selection as Manchester United manager, in the right-sided position where Ferguson struggled to find a permanent solution last season. Zaha was everything you expect from a 20-year-old debutant winger: energetic, eager and direct, but aside from one whipped near-post cross towards Danny Welbeck his final ball was disappointing.

More interesting was the role of Welbeck, particularly as he was playing in the support striker role more commonly filled by Wayne Rooney. Welbeck's lack of goal threat remains something of a concern, but his touch, positioning and link-up play are always extremely impressive, and here he was particularly involved, drifting away from Ben Watson to receive balls forward from midfield, and encouraging others forward with simple, reliable short passes.

A consistent feature throughout Welbeck's fledgling career – even when played wide, or when he spent a season on loan at Sunderland – has been his high pass completion rate, and here he misplaced just four of his 39 passes. If Rooney does leave Old Trafford this season, the more creative Shinji Kagawa will hope to receive more opportunities in that No10 role but Welbeck demonstrated here that he's also deserving of a starting place.

Welbeck was also crucial in another impressive feature of United's game, namely pressing high up the pitch, where he and Robin van Persie started the closing down deep inside the Wigan half. The FA Cup holders are accustomed to Roberto Martínez's back three, featuring good passers capable of playing their way out of trouble, but Owen Coyle has assembled a more rudimentary defensive quartet in preparation for the more physical challenge of the Championship and the number of times United dispossessed Wigan's defenders in the opposition half was particularly intriguing.

It's dangerous to read too much into the tactics used in a glorified pre-season friendly, of course, but the natural attitude in such a fixture is for players to be passive, especially on such a hot afternoon at Wembley. The fact that Welbeck and Van Persie were so committed to pressuring opponents was doubtless because of instructions from the coaching staff, and probably an indication that Moyes wants his sides to press from the front once United start their competitive campaign at Swansea next weekend.

There was also a hint of Moyes's Everton approach in the opening goal: Patrice Evra's cross for Van Persie's well-judged header was the type of strike Everton became renowned for, with Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini combining in such a fashion repeatedly over the past couple of seasons. It's no coincidence they've been repeatedly linked with United in recent weeks, but regardless of their future, width and crossing might form an increasingly key part of United's strategy this season.
 
GodCubed said:
I love Welbeck. Probably more than is realistic, but I am a massive fan of his. Hopefully this season he steps up another level.



Let's not, eh?
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Yep, seems to me he's developing some kind of Rooney-esque role in United. He needs to improve in some segments, but his overall play is pretty good.

Also, don't.
 
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