Played quite well for the reserves tonight, showed some good touches and a few raking long passes..
Paul Pogba
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Been said every year now for the last 5-6 seasons. in 09/10 he played 25 league games. 25 last season, and 19 so far this season. Averaging 30 over the course of his career.
But Petrucci was class, he must be a cert for the first team come next season (ahead of Pogba?)
Cleverley and Anderson haven't even managed 25% of the starts combined this year (probably). Jones isn't a midfielder, anyone who thinks so is deluded. Giggs is 38, so what if he has limited opportunities? He's going to be limited more and more the old he gets anyway.
Not to mention possible injuries to Carrick and whomever, and maybe, just maybe, going back to a fecking 4-3-3 from time to time so that we can actually do well in Europe again.
there will still be PLENTY of game time for younger players.
And anyway, this club shouldn't be entirely about giving these youngsters games, Anderson has had 5 years for feck sake, I've practically given up relying on him to go and play over 30 games a season and be our star man by now. If making our midfield much better means limiting the likes of Anderson *slightly", then I don't really care.
One day it'll be true. There is no escaping age.
Hope we don't have the same contract issue with Petrucci.
Yeah I was going to go on in my post and explain why but didn't because, as Neviller said, it's the Pogba thread.
Anderson has only started 43 league games in the last four years, assuming he's injured for the remaining 10, althought I don't know if that's been confirmed. So that's 43 out of 152 possible starts, so that's barely over 25% of the games, so we can't rely on him to last the season.
Giggs will be another year older and will be used more sparingly, he's already being used less and more from the bench which will continue from next season. He's never going to be a constant part of the first team at his age, he's great to have in the squad as he brings a quality and composure that the other's don't, but I'd be surprised if he started more than 15 league games next year.
If this seasons anything to go by Jones will divide his game time between centre back, centre mid and right back, so he won't be a permanent fixture in the middle. It's probably a bit misleading to count him as one of our 5 centre mids, seeing as that's not his main position.
Then you have Carrick and Cleverly who look like being the most likely regular starters in the position. At the moment Carrick is undoubtedly first choice, and I think Cleverly will play the most games as his partner, unless we get someone else in. Although he's talented he isn't fully developed yet and despite impressing at the start of the season I thought Anderson comfortably outshone him.
We'll have Carrick who averages around 25 starts in the last four years, who is obviously our first choice and might be able to start 30 games at a push. Then Anderson who is injury prone, Giggs who will be 39 years old and playing less and less, Jones who doesn't usually play there, and then Cleverly.
I think we need one more top quality signing in centre mid as although Carrick and Anderson/Clev is a decent pairing it isn't outstanding and would still be the weakest area of the team. When they don't play is when we need reinforcements because there are doubts over Jones' ability to play there and Giggs' fitness.
If we don't expect Anderson and Cleverley to be less injured than this season, we should just get rid of them both.
Jones is whatever Sir Alex decides he will be.
Whether you have given up on players is irrelevant.
Fair enough, I think he'll be good for another two seasons but I agree we shouldn't just rely on that, which is why I think we need another midfielder in their prime or close to it.
Tbh I just want a standard central midfielder, doesn't need to be a defensive mid or an attacking mid, just someone who can play central midfield. Outside of Carrick and Fletch no one else can do that. All our other midfielders need some cover imo.
I don't think it'll be an issue giving them time. You keep including Ando but as I've said if we sign anyone than we will have to let someone go and that person is likely him, so that's one less to worry about. Jones again does not have to play central midfield and can spend most the season battling with Rafael for RB. With Smalling and Evans the understudies for Rio and Vidic. In fact one of them is likely to overtake Rio next season.
Only Carrick out of that bunch has showed that he can be fit for most games. Clev looks a tad injury prone and whilst he might be more consistent it doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare if not. If scholes is here he will need breaks over the season, and Giggs will probably need a few more with each year. Fletcher is a big doubt about returning, let alone how frequently he can play once he's back.
That's the problem. As I said we have to many midfielders who aren't reliable to be fit most the time and by not addressing that situation we have often had to resort to unbalanced midfields which has cost us. We need another midfielder who is physically capable of playing each game and is experienced enough to not need a helping hand in there. We can worry about giving everyone games after and if it comes down to it I'm sure Fergie will say to the likes of Scholes, that we need to focus on the younger players, provided they're performing.
At the end of the day the young players should be earning their way in to the team and not being played purely because we have no alternatives or to make them develop. There'll be plenty of games to go round. I'm sure for example had we had another midfielder capable, that Carrick would have gotten more of a rest in this period.
That is a bold statement. I like the player but his injuries have really hindered his development, he is out of contract in the summer too. He isn't a 'cert' by a long way.
Shit, not another one out of contract....
Plenty of games to go round: indeed. If we had another decent midfielder this season there might have been more games for everyone, seeing as we might have avoided crashing out of every cup we competed in, early.
So would I. Even though we need a central midfielder more.
Modric is ever so slightly overrated, I think.
What's wrong with all you spastics talking about what you are in here
https://www.redcafe.net/f6/we-dont-actually-need-midfielder-thread-306422/
And leaving the Pogba thread for what it's actually about?
https://www.redcafe.net/f6/we-dont-actually-need-midfielder-thread-306422/
And leaving the Pogba thread for what it's actually about?
Yep, in the cup games we could be playing the likes of Clev, Jones, Pogba etc instead of some unbalanced Park/Gibson combo. Similarly having more proper options would mean we could afford to rotate a bit more in the Cl group stages knowing we're bringing in proper midfielders and balances sides, rather than just going with what's fit.
Not sure where people get that idea from
Why don't you just let the Mods to deal with the thread, and you take care of your language.
I meant first team squad, obviously not first team...
Bit annoying coming into a thread about Pogba to see it be nothing about Pogba. I guess only certain people are allowed to complain about threads being taken of topic.
Only caught the first half but pogba was 
Some of his passes especially the volley crossfield to vermilj was insane
Some of his passes especially the volley crossfield to vermilj was insane
Midfield options are being discussed which kind of links with Pogba discussion. There's also better ways of asking posters to keep thread on topic.
Anyway, watched the reserves tonight. He played reasonably well, some great raking balls, and he has that technique of cutting across the ball on the half volley down to a fine art, pinged a couple out wide tonight using it.
Does anyone else though think he's at an in-between stage, where he's too good for the reserves but not quite ready for the first team? Maybe if he signs a contract, is still here next season and goes on the pre-season tour he'll make the step up, but I can't see him in the reserves next year, he's wasted there.
Does anyone else though think he's at an in-between stage, where he's too good for the reserves but not quite ready for the first team? Maybe if he signs a contract, is still here next season and goes on the pre-season tour he'll make the step up, but I can't see him in the reserves next year, he's wasted there.
I don't see how, he's not even mentioned in 3/4 of the posts in the recent discussion, with most of it being about buying a midfielder or not, or whether Modric or Bale is the better signing, but hey, as you said, you're the mod so your call.
If you're right he just needs games in the first team to get up to scratch. Hopefully next season we'll do better in the cups and he'll get some chances.
Agreed, was saying the same thing, reminds me
Of about Danny welbeck.
He needs a championship style loan imo
If he stays I don't think he'll be going anywhere on loan, he'll only stay because he's going to get chances here, in my opinion, so if he's here next season he'll be part of the first team squad. Let's hope he's ready for it. IF he stays that is.
Mindblowing.Bale is made for us. His playing style, attributes, young, British.
Haven't seen enough of him, but that's what the problem was for Pique.
Did well in the first half tonight but fell away a little bit during the second. Thought Petrucci was better and Tunnicliffe came into it more in the second half after solid showing in the first.
I think he was good tonight. He featured yesterday and he just needs games. I don't see the point in loaning him out. I don't think we're that 'amazing' that he can't force his way into the team next season and you don't say to someone your considered a first teamer and then loan them out.
At 19 your not the finished article but neither is Rafael or Hernandez or Anderson...de gea etc. They still get minutes. But loaning him out? I don't think there's much point. Even if you excel elsewhere you have to do it for the United first team and we've been patient with players before, whom didn't perform that great, but with time proved themselves with the help of more experienced players around them
At 19 your not the finished article but neither is Rafael or Hernandez or Anderson...de gea etc. They still get minutes. But loaning him out? I don't think there's much point. Even if you excel elsewhere you have to do it for the United first team and we've been patient with players before, whom didn't perform that great, but with time proved themselves with the help of more experienced players around them
I watch most of the reserves matches and he seems to kind of stroll through them. I know that's kind of his style, but he would remind you of a player playing at a level beneath him. Maybe other reserve watchers could give an opinion, they might disagree, but that's pretty much what I see from him when I watch him play at this level.
Pique wasn't really the same he was clearly good enough but we had rio and vidic at the back and so there wasn't the game time there he wanted and he didn't seem to keen on right back. Pogba just looks raw from all I've seen of him which is admittedly isn't much.
I don't know what I was doing talking about Modric or Bale in this thread. My excuse is that I was replying to a post by Cnut, so it's his responsibility.
He's not ready to be starting for the first-team, that's for damn sure.
As for being too good for the reserves, he was probably the most talented player on the pitch tonight but was completely anonymous for long stretches. Petrucci was much more influential. It's all very well him knowing he's the best player on the pitch but he needs to start proving it, week in, week out, if he wants to make that next step up.
He'll always have a languid style but he's good enough to really stamp his authority on a reserve team match, which is something he's only done very intermittently this season.
Yeah, said this in the reserves match thread. It's absolutely infuriating. A player of his talent should be demanding the ball, and setting the tempo of the game. It's baffling how bad his off the ball play is in comparison to how good he is on it. He's already got a lot more skill on the ball than the majority of players in our squad, but he's seriously lacking in this aspect. I suppose this is something that very few players have at a young age, but he genuinely doesn't look arsed a lot of the time!
It would be a disaster playing Pogba next to just one midfielder in the first team in a match of any importance until he sorts this out. We'd have no control over the game, and Rooney would have to constantly drop even deeper to give the other midfielder (or even the defenders, as a matter of fact) someone to pass to.
Also, being too good for the reserves doesn't always mean that you'll cut it at first team level at United. Chris Eagles was one that was always too good for the reserves but who couldn't make an impact at United.
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