Hargreaves was back in training for at least a month last season and Owen's injury was due to be resolved by early June.
Owen Hargreaves' injuries | Fergie: I don't see him playing again this season
- Thread starter BahamaRed
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Agree
What are his flaws please?
what does he offer apart from being poor man's Fletcher with dodgy knees?
He was 2 for 2 on set pieces before injury, so that's pretty good as we are currently wank from them
A better range of passing/dribbling/crossing than Fletcher for a start, and a very good option from set pieces.
corssing and set pieces yeah, but no so sure on the passing
I give him 3 weeks
I don't think he's a better passer or crosser than Fletch.
He was beginning to get very good at set pieces for us though.
He was beginning to get very good at set pieces for us though.
Hargreaves is an absolutely class player when fit.
He is indeed.
Would have been brilliant for England had he been fit, just the type of player they were missing
I thought England were better and more grounded when he was playing in 06. If fully fit, he would've made a massive difference this time as well.
A player like him grounded in German football with BM is so much better than Barry as a holding player but also willing to get forward.He can play wide right or fill in as a RB.
He gives creative players room to express themselves. I feel that he'll have a big part to play for us when he returns...(I hope he returns)
Great news for Haggis.
I don't think he is a poor man's Fletcher. Both offer a lot of energy, good tackling and he isn't bad with the ball.
Fletcher is also not used as a holding player for us, that has been either Carrick or Scholes - normally the role played by Hargreaves.
With Hargreaves you can move one of the more creative mids further up the pitch and have a defensive player in front of the back 4 mopping up stuff while Fletcher offers energy further up the pitch and also making intelligent runs/crosses/passes and then you have bit more of a free role for creative mid. That's all in the scenario of a 3 man central midfield.
Also, in the case where Fletcher is unavailable, none of the others can really do his job like Hargreaves.
In a 4-4-2 when we are perhaps chasing the game and trying to throw another forward on but, don't want to lose too much in the middle of the park - Fletcher/Hargreaves partnership can provide a good foundation of ensuring getting possession back.
Both of them are underrated in their passing. They are not Carrick or Scholes but, they certainly are very good.
Agreed, and will give us more options in midfield and defence.
He takes away United's fluidity. He's fine when defending a big lead.
I like his dead ball attributes.
What on earth are you talking about? He had plenty of pace and his passing range was good, if anything his endless energy gave United more fluidity.
Love Hargo, cant wait to have him back next season
The 07/08 season seems like so long ago. It'll be a boost to have him back.
How the feck did he become a bad player? He's a magnificent and versatile midfielder.
Will be brilliant to see Hargreaves back for us properly one day, hopefully pre season and then going into the season. He can press players, chase the ball, take free kicks and even cross so whatever we say he does have some positives to his game. Almost feels like he's never played for us though which is a shame and he's getting on now.
A fit Hargreaves has more to offer than Fletcher.
Although I still love Fletcher.
Although I still love Fletcher.
are people seriously doubting hargreaves' ability ?
he has been fit for almost 3 months (
) .. hope he has a decent preseason and is available for us in august
he has been fit for almost 3 months (
) .. hope he has a decent preseason and is available for us in augustNo one knows what impact Hargreaves would have in our team because he was injured all the time here. No one knows whether we will ever see a fit Hargreaves either because the injury may have ruined him forever.
That's true and we can only hope that if there is any doubt that this season he is not going to be able to play a decent number of games for us - that we invest in a similar player.
That maybe was SAF biggest mistake last year in depending on Hargreaves being available for us as he really would have made a world of difference for us.
It's the same mistake Chelsea are making with Essien. Essien would have made the difference for them in terms of winning the league comfortably and also possibly getting past Inter. That they have no cover for him really weakens them.
Same for us with Fletcher, if we are missing him in the midfield - it hurts us. Him having to play RB against Villa at home and Fulham weakened us in midfield.
Not to mention we don't know what's happening with Anderson. We really short on high energy central mids. If Hargreaves is a question mark - hope we don't shoot ourselves in the foot by hoping him or Anderson will be okay.
I don't think that our team rely on Hargreaves too much these days. The first teamer is Fletcher who had been improving year in year out with Carrick acting as his cover. The problem in central midfield goes beyond Hargreaves. Its a matter of whether we have that player capable of giving us top quality creativity (with reasonable workrate, no team can survive with a 2 men central midfield without having 2 midfielders capable of doing some defensive duties) at a consistent rate. Scholes/Giggs can do that but they are getting old.
What I mean to say is we have no cover for Fletcher. Hargreaves was supposed to be that person last year and it bit us when we played him out of position.
Fletcher also hasn't been used to sit in front of the back 4 either. That was pushed onto Carrick or Scholes last year. Having a fit Hargreaves would mean releasing either of them to play higher up the park where they can help create more going forward.
Fletcher also hasn't been used to sit in front of the back 4 either. That was pushed onto Carrick or Scholes last year. Having a fit Hargreaves would mean releasing either of them to play higher up the park where they can help create more going forward.
Does he bollocks. Hargreaves, when playing (and fit accoring to himself and the manager) has been our worst midfielder since Djemba Djemba.
Fletcher is better than Hargreaves ever was.
He can't pass
Im looking forward to seeing him. Last chance for him to get his Man Utd career back on track im afraid. I don't see our patience lasting much longer.
I have to agree with Ekeke that Fletcher has now surpassed Hargreaves.
I hope he will be a useful squad player though. Or Fletcher and Hargreaves could even play together.
I hope he will be a useful squad player though. Or Fletcher and Hargreaves could even play together.
I honestly expect to see him leave for free before he plays 5 more matches for us.
Hargreaves when fit is class. Didn't put a foot wrong the whole of last season.
Hagreaves was never fit with us. Our physios do make mistakes. Giving the go ahead for Hargreaves signing was one of them.
Really?? So good that SAF thought he'd push him out to play on the wing and at right back very often? He was mediocre barring a few matches in the center for us, but of course it's all forgotten since his injury. He's now better than our best and most consistent central midfielder in the last 2-3 seasons.
When he's back to full fitness and not getting a look in ahead of Fletch, please inform SAF just how much better Hargreaves is than Fletcher.
Oh and for those who think he's a "great" passer? What are you lot smoking? Seriously?
Pre-season will be huge for him, if he has lost his pace or dynamism than that's a big old portion of his game out of the window
So he's back?
He is not better than Fletcher. In that 07/08 season his best performance came when he played on the right side of midfield against Roma at OT. However having him back is definitely a big boost for us, he can play in various positions plus he will improve our set piece taking.