Defence - Phil Jones played last night like a long serving member of the squad, Evans stepped up and Smalling was fantastic, were was Bale? Midfield - Cleverely and Anderson ran the show. Forwards - Is there room for Berb and Hernandez if the Rooney and Welbeck partnership continues to blossom? To be fair i think United will dominate the league this year and it will be a title run with City but United will have the edge. Well done Sir Alex!
hernandez will get back in the team and we still need someone more defensive in the middle of the park
Surely Ando has done enough for him to be first choice central midfielder now? If we are in a tight game his workrate and ability on the ball is vital. If it is an open game, his ability to run with the ball and an eye for an pass is vital. Cleverley's all round game is getting better but I think we could do with a bit of strength in midfield. Carrick isn't going to put himself about and Fletcher is a worry. Alot depends on his re-conditioning work.
Carrick doesnt get about though anyway, his job is to look after the back 4, fletcher just runs about but no real end product imo, im happy with Anderson taking the central role and Cleverley will only get better as you say.
What I meant is that Carrick isn't exactly small and he should use his size to effect in that respect but he is more of the shield rather than Gattuso type midfielder. But I do disagree with you about Fletcher, I think he is quality and is technically superb.
Agreed with Carrick, Fletcher is a great player but i just dont think hes good enough for the future squad thats all.
Welbeck has been a bit hit and miss (simply fantastic in the second half, poor in the 1st and vs West Brom) so i would not displace hernandez yet, but when you look at some of the young players we have that are already good enough for this level. In 5 years they could be something special.
Am I the only one worried by the relative lack of chances that the likes of Macheda and Diouf are getting? Both, for me, really impressed during pre-season. Macheda looked hungry and scored a few and Diouf's all round game looks fantastic, could be a wide player a bit like Ole was after the sale of Beckham.
Macheda maybe, but Diouf will be sold no doubt, was terrible on load at Blackburn plus we already have Owen and Berb not to mention the rest!
i thought diouf would get sold, but he was good in pre-season and SAF seems to be keeping him around. I thought he'd be sold before obertan
Macheda could use what we did with Welbeck. Another year on loan (to an English team this time). At the moment he is not good enough to warent many appearances while we have 5 good strikers.
After last season, I thought Diouf would be sold. He did have a decent season with Blackburn, showed he wasn't out of his depth at this level but I couldn't see how he'd get up the pecking order. But after watching him (combine with Welbeck especially) in pre-season, he looks a very talented player. I think people are automatically thinking Manucho when they think of Diouf, but I think they couldn't be further from the truth. The Sampdoria loan, acknowledged by Macheda himself, wasn't the best. I don't think it's a case of him not being good enough, he just needs the match time and confidence to enhance his game. I'm not his biggest fan but he is talented and I think he can make it at United.
after our last 3 games andersons passing is at around 85%+ which is good. his shooting is alot better,and he's scoring goals now. he made 6 out of 6 interceptions last night,plus he made some good blocks and tackles.i really like anderson.he just needs to stop getting so many long term injurys. i do think tho that saf will put carrick and fletcher in cm in games which we need to be very defensive in.
We would have to drop a CM for that, and in return our wingers would have to play a little bit more defensive, so whoever is playing CM doesn't get isolated. Depends. If its the Fletcher from last season, then I agree. But if it's the Fletcher from 08/09, then I think he would be first choice CM along with Anderson. Don't think Macheda is ready, but Diouf looked great in preseason. Like he really wants to make the grade at United. Diouf wasn't terrible at Blackburn, he was getting game time and scoring a few goals until Big Sam got sacked. After Keen took charge his chances were limited. I believe in that same interview where Macheda talked about his experience at Sampdoria, he stated something like "I realized Manchester United is where I really want to be" did the whole playing for a ****e side in Italy, and coming back to a team like United, made him realize what an opportunity he has here.
I think they'll get chances, but Welbeck's getting his chance right now. SAF knows not to try and blood too many players at once - if you're gonna play someone untested like Welbeck then the strikers on the bench need to be experienced in order to make the difference if the new guy struggles in some games. I reckon if Welbeck goes off the boil at some point then Macheda or Diouf will get a chance, and if not there are bound to be opportunities in the cups and when injuries and tiredness hits in winter.
I think Anderson is first choice this season, and I'm hoping that Cleverly has jumped ahead of Carrick and Fletcher in the pecking order. The pace we're playing at would not be sustained with Carrick and Fletcher in the team.
