Current opinions on Herrera

Sir A1ex

Full Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2002
Messages
27,949
Location
Where the goals come from.
Interested to hear what people think about his current situation...

I've alwasy been fully signed up to the "Herrera must play" campaign, although unlike many, I still felt through the autumn that LVG agreed. When he wasn't playing in early December, a lot of people ignored the fact that he was recovering from injury, and had started 4 out of 5 prior to that injury, and claimed that LVG was shamefully ignoring.

Since he got fit, sure enough LVG brought him back in and he started 8 in a row, but failed to provide a single goal or assist, as we averaged exactly one goal per match. He's now been benched for two, and we've scored 6 - though none of them during his late cameo appearances.

Now obviously there are a whole range of reasons relating to the wider team that he hasn't been scoring or setting up goals, and why we've gone a lot more fluid in the last couple of macthes. I'm certainly not sayuing we were wrong and he's shit. But equally, I do ahve to question the "Herrera will cure all our attacknig problems" mindset that I kind-of bought into previously.

What's everybody else thinking? Would you bring hmi back into our starting XI right now? If so, who for - can we drop Mata after Tuesday?
 
I would maybe play him next to Carrick on Sunday. No need to drop Mata, I don't really like Herrera playing in the 10 role anyway, he is a CM for me.

What I really wanted was Carrick/Bastain Herrera Schnederlin in a midfield 3.

I think his form has been patchy like many, but I do think his best position in as a CM and he should be allowed to break forward from there.
 
A lot of of factors came together in the last two games so I'm not sure it's fair to hold that against him.

But I do still consider him a midfielder rather than a number 10. He's an 8, and that's where he played his best football for us (last season). LVG has never liked him there, though.
 
He is poor, but he is better player/midfielder than Fellaini at any moment so he should play ahead of him.

He should improve though, his form is really bad, but it's quite clear that he isn't the player he was in the first season, since this season he is very restricted in his play.
 
We won't see the best of him unless we play the same type of shit that we did last season, 433, 4141, your pick. That system didn't have a clear number #10 though like our current one does.
 
His passing seems to have gone, there have been a few simple, really simple passes from him which have found their way out of play or behind a team mate where they have had to check back and play has slowed as a result. It could be a confidence issue but I am with the OP, I am all for playing him next to Carrick or Schneiderlin with Mata ahead of them, I feel there is little that can be done with the Herrera - Mata link up that they seem to have when Mata is out on the right. Through the middle with the bit of pace we now seem to have out wide however is a different story.
 
He doesn't fit into the current formation.

He isn't a #10, and he isn't a #6 for the double pivot. If we played 4-3-3 he'd be brilliant as one of the #8s.

In the mean time, I'd have him starting next to Carrick depending on opposition, harder opposition Morgan, weaker sides Herrera.
 
He definately isnt a number 10. He lacks the creativity and goals from there. He is best suited to a midfield 3, where he can run into the box/forward and provide the goal threat from there and can help defensively much more. His passing is normally better, but still not top class. He isnt a metronom, but more of an all action type player.

That said, i would play him in a midfield 2 currently if we want to play him, otherwise keep him on the bench or change the formation. He doesnt offer much currently, especially his passing is disappointing. He just doesnt take risks and his simple passes arent the best either. Dont know why, maybe confidence or he simply is afraid.
 
Been in terrible form recently. Here's hoping the very small resurgence in the rest of our attack lifts him back up.
 
izec said:
He definately isnt a number 10. He lacks the creativity and goals from there. He is best suited to a midfield 3, where he can run into the box/forward and provide the goal threat from there and can help defensively much more. His passing is normally better, but still not top class. He isnt a metronom, but more of an all action type player.

That said, i would play him in a midfield 2 currently if we want to play him, otherwise keep him on the bench or change the formation. He doesnt offer much currently, especially his passing is disappointing. He just doesnt take risks and his simple passes arent the best either. Dont know why, maybe confidence or he simply is afraid.
Click to expand...

I would agree with this.
 
I've always felt like he was overrated on this forum but I do think he's a really good player. I don't think he's a top-class player in any way but with what we've seen this season from Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Fellaini and Carrick, he should be starting most games in midfield. Like izec said, he doesn't have the pace, the penetration or the creativity to his play to make him a good no. 10.

Mata, although generally underwhelming since arriving, is by far the bigger talent in my opinion, and definitely the better pick for the no. 10 role.
 
He's a good player but he isn't as good as a lot of fans on here hype him up to be. There is no doubting he would benefit from playing in a different system with different midfielder alongside him. None of our midfielders are as mobile as he is and its that sort of dynamic industry that brings out the best in him. Pass and move, always looking for space.

With that said though, every player on the planet would be much better with their ideal partners, in their ideal system and he isn't good enough to justify building that team around him. He should be playing a lot better with the partners he does have and in the system he is in. I suspect it's just a poor run of form though, he was injured for a while and then came back at a difficult time when games were coming thick and fast and everyone else is in a bit of rhythm. We'll see better days from him.
 
He isnt stepping up his game as of late, he seems a passionate guy buy he needs to give more for the full 90, we may not see the best of Herrera until a mangerial change
 
Second season syndrome. Just relax, he'll come good again.

It's evident that he's not exactly LvG cup of tea either, the guy has been switched all around the place, in an underperforming team, I wouldn't be to worried about it.
 
He'd make a great rotational player once we bring in a midfield powerhouse.
 
We are considerably stronger at defending set pieces with Fellaini in the team and I think this is what's keeping him in the starting 11 and allowing us to keep playing Blind at the back. This is also the main reason Herrera is losing out on game time at the moment.

With a back four of Darmian-Smalling-Blind-CBJ you only really have Smalling out of the four who can be classified as a dominating presence at defending set pieces, and even he's been a little suspect of late.

It's not a popular view, and in a perfect world I wouldn't choose to have Fellaini starting for us, but goals like the ones we conceded against Southampton late on probably would have had less chance of happening with Fellaini on the pitch. The marking for that was non-existent. Apologies for straying off topic but I think this is why we've not seen too much of Herrera lately/that he's looked underwhelming during the limited game time he's had since the turn of the year.
 
Herrera's a good player. It's no coincidence that when van Gaal was willing to play him in what we've seen as his most natural position, a thread arose hailing him as one of the most complete midfielders in the league. He's the best in our team at accelerating the tempo of our play from between midfield (besides Carrick) and advanced areas, and his natural propensity to do such is partly why he struggles when the ball is given to him at walking-pace tempo in tight areas up the field. Right now he lacks confidence and form, but he's also visibly uncomfortable in the role he's often made to play and it seems like pretty much every key player in our team is better playing in a system where the tempo is high and there is space to exploit.

I'm a little worried about his prospects long-term. We still have no real idea whether he can consistently cut it from a midfield two in this league, with his positive but occasionally errant passing, and the fact that no one in the team besides Schweinsteiger and Carrick is adept at slowing down our play which is essential for control in midfield. Neither Schweinsteiger, nor Carrick, can be relied on to complete defensive shielding left-over from Herrera's dogged defensive contribution. The arrival of midfield and deeper-forward specialists like Gundogan and Griezmann (the current muppet dream) would all but end his prospects as a first-team regular.
 
I'd be quite happy to see Herrera and Schneiderlin as our midfield two next season.
 
He's the best we've got at linking midfield and attack and switching the pace of our game. I want him to play alongside Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger for a few games. He's brilliant there.
 
I've always liked Hererra because he plays football the right way. He's the anti-Fellaini. But the truth is, he's only one level above the likes of Cleverley, and a couple short of where we should be. 30m player he is not. But then again, the thought of Fellaini as a 28m player is utterly laughable. So in that context he was a bargain.

If it was me in charge, and I was playing the possession based football Van Gaal likes; Herrera would play as a number 8 for me. I think his greatest strength is his movement and recycling of possession. Carrick, Herrera and Mata is our best midfield 3 in my opinion. Herrera just doesn't have the weapons to play as a number 10.
 
Think he operates best in a 3 man midfield like he did in the purple patch we had last season with Carrick & Fellaini with him.

Going forward in order to best utilise him we need a replacement for Carrick such as Gundogan.
And two midfielders to rotate with Herrera & Schneiderlin (Tielemans/Neves/Saul etc)
 
The poorness of his form since his injury has been remarkable. Poor touches, poor passing, poor positioning. It's difficult to judge a player on a form like that other than that players of his age and experience shouldn't have a much better poor form. That's what experience does in comparison with young talent, they always deliver at a certain and at least decent level.

So this is exceptional, he should recover from this poor form and neve sink as low again, and then I can see him as an important player usually starting the game.
 
Should start the next game in centre midfield next to Carrick. Since he returned from injury he hasn't been in the best form. That being said, I never expect him to be that good at #10. Positive that when he came on against Stoke midweek it was at #8.

Personally feel he's at his best on the right of a three man Spain style centre midfield. Think his on the ball ability should earn him a run in the side next to Carrick while Basti is out, Fellaini is nothing better than average and Schneiderlin's not playing up to his potential.
 
Average midfielder who plays well occasionally.
Not disciplined enough to play no8 nor creative enough to play no 10.
Vastly over-rated on Redcafe. Am not sure why, but probably ourt of relief that we actually signed some midfielders after years of neglect from SAF.
 
Last edited:
vi1lain said:
Think he operates best in a 3 man midfield like he did in the purple patch we had last season with Carrick & Fellaini with him.

Going forward in order to best utilise him we need a replacement for Carrick such as Gundogan.
And two midfielders to rotate with Herrera & Schneiderlin (Tielemans/Neves/Saul etc)
Click to expand...
That's what I think as well. I just dont see him in a midfield 2, he doesnt have the positional sense or composure for that. So far, he's been 50/50 for me. He showed what he can bring to the team and that he can play a cruical role. Nevertheless, he has not played in a way that would make him a must starter either. He needs to prove that soon otherwise he will be what Kagawa become for us
 
ivaldo said:
It would be a damn sight better than it currently is
Click to expand...

It really wouldn't, neither have the positioning nous LVG requires from his midfielders that play in double #6 setup. Carrick's best at it, then Schnweinsteiger (that's why we've seen them play together even though both are incredibly slow), then to some extent Schneiderlin and then Herrera and Fellaini.

Remember matches where we played Fellaini and Schneiderlin in midfield? We'd witness same type of shit.
 
Typifies the rest of our midfield tbh. Quite good, but nowhere near world class and perhaps the money should have spent on someone a bit better. Having said that, thats probably all you can expect for 30m these days. Even so, the 90m spent on Fellaini, Herrera and Schneiderlin should surely have given us a bit more than what we've got.
 
Still rate him very highly and would play him as the #10 ahead of Mata any time.
 
sammsky1 said:
Average midfielder who plays well occasionally.
Not disciplined enough to play no8 nor creative enough to play no 10.
Vastly over-rated oh Redcafe. Am not sure why, but probably ourtof relief that we actually signed some midfielders after years of neglect from SAF.
Click to expand...

I agree. He's got a cute face and likes the club, so that makes him likable.

There's really no position he excels in. He'd be great in a 5-aside team, since he's ok at everything but not really great at anything either. Long term, he cannot be a starter for us, but he's worth keeping since he can play both 8 and 10, if he's willing to stay as a squad player.
 
I think Herrera is a great player but he's being played in the wrong position and in the wrong system as he's not fitting into a 4-2-3-1 either as one of the two midfielders or as a number 10.

Herrera needs to be the attack minded one of a midfield three as he was last season alongside Carrick and Fellaini, now he needs to be the same alongside Carrick and one of Schweinsteiger or Schneiderlin with Mata and Martial either side of Rooney up top.
 
ivaldo said:
I'd be quite happy to see Herrera and Schneiderlin as our midfield two next season.
Click to expand...

Herrera wouldn't compensate Schneiderlin's lack of creativity.

Schneiderlin wouldn't compensate Herrera's lack of defensive input.

Both with Gundogan in a three with them though....
 
great option on the bench at the moment - can come on in central midfield if we are chasing a game and similarly if we want to close a game out he can come on as a 10
dont see him starting many games in the current set up though
 
For me he's one of a small band of players that Van Gaal ostracises when he has a lower-than-par game & publicly calls out. Against Crystal Palace on halloween after a, you've guessed it, 0-0 draw Van Gaal said "“In the last minute of the first half, Ander Herrera could have finished it but he didn’t. I asked him and he didn’t know why, so that is a pity." Yet he ignored how terrible Rooney was from August to January!

He's got passion and fire in his belly, something a lot of the current squad seem to lack. We all loved his celebration on the bench against Watford, it's great to see a player so animated. I think that's endeared him to a lot of fans & rightly so.

As for his football, while he has had somewhat of a dip in form, he'd be in my starting XI every week. Even in the darkest days of crab-ball, he's always been a beacon of forward-passing light. He adds a dimension to the Utd attack that we really need in midfield. A decent attacking midfielder with a great passing range, brilliant shot conversion rate & a genuine love of the club that I haven't seen since Hernandez left.
 
He's an interesting playing player because of the combination of strengths he has. He hasn't been played in his best role either and, like everyone else, has suffered under Van Gaal's system.

That said, he's more of a Mikel Arteta level player than than a top one.
 
Bwuk said:
He doesn't fit into the current formation.

He isn't a #10, and he isn't a #6 for the double pivot. If we played 4-3-3 he'd be brilliant as one of the #8s.
Click to expand...

Basically this. I put Fellaini in the same boat.
 
Pexbo said:
Herrera wouldn't compensate Schneiderlin's lack of creativity.

Schneiderlin wouldn't compensate Herrera's lack of defensive input.

Both with Gundogan in a three with them though....
Click to expand...
I agree with you. I think Herrera naturally wants to create, but in the system we have been using up to the last couple of games he has been caught between playing it safe and the opposite, so ends up doing neither. The other players have now adapted to the more attacking style because they have been playing all the time. The two who are suffering the most are Ander and Morgan who are in and out. Carrick will always be Carrick. As someone said it could also be a bit of second season syndrome with Ander. He had a pretty good start to his United career. I just hope second season syndrome for Morgan means the opposite and he starts playing well when it arrives, because he has been really disappointing. A powerhouse midfielder with those two would be great.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.