Shinji Kagawa

[Feed Me]

I'm very hopeful of Kagawa having a David Silva style second season for us.

Took the words out of my mouth. Silva was very patchy in his first season.

 

[Will Absolute]

Calm down dear! There are parallels between Kagawa's debut season and Silva's & Mata's. it's been a settling in season, disrupted more by injury than being played out of position. I keep saying it, but very few players at United play their 'preferred' position week in, week out. If Kagawa possesses the quality that he's reported to, he'll adapt fine.

Don't agree. We couldn't play De Gea at fullback and expect him to adapt.

Kagawa doesn't have the physical assets to succeed as a United winger. He's a cerebral player who needs to play centrally to utilise his movement, quickness of thought and action, clever link ups, etc. The team itself has to play at a high tempo to see the best of him.

 

[Aboutreika18]

Don't see what's wrong with playing him "out wide".

He'll always be drifting inside anyway, given his playing nature and it's a good way to make him more difficult for opposition defenders to pick up, especially if he's interchanging with other similarly versatile players in that zone, like Rooney, RvP, Nani etc.

 

[AttackingFlair]

Yeah he doesn't have to play as a winger, the same way Silva doesn't when he plays 'out wide' for City

 

[The Neviller]

Don't agree. We couldn't play De Gea at fullback and expect him to adapt.

Kagawa doesn't have the physical assets to succeed as a United winger. He's a cerebral player who needs to play centrally to utilise his movement, quickness of thought and action, clever link ups, etc. The team itself has to play at a high tempo to see the best of him.

What a silly example. Playing a goalkeeper in an outfield position is entirely different to playing an outfield player in a slightly different outfield position than he's used to.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Agreed. It's already looking as if Fergie is going to f**k him over.

Kagawa plays a certain role very well. If Fergie didn't want that type of player, why waste the player's time and United's money?

Sad to admit it but have to agree.

 

[Will Absolute]

What a silly example. Playing a goalkeeper in an outfield position is entirely different to playing an outfield player in a slightly different outfield position than he's used to.

It's 'exaggeration for the sake of effect'.

How dare you question my examples! I've won awards for my examples! It's like a giraffe being criticised for its neck! Or a donkey for the size of its penis!

 

[Rowem]

Don't see what's wrong with playing him "out wide".

He'll always be drifting inside anyway, given his playing nature and it's a good way to make him more difficult for opposition defenders to pick up, especially if he's interchanging with other similarly versatile players in that zone, like Rooney, RvP, Nani etc.

This.

Can't believe there is talk of United ruining him. What drivel.

 

[Mad Winger]

Don't see what's wrong with playing him "out wide".

He'll always be drifting inside anyway, given his playing nature and it's a good way to make him more difficult for opposition defenders to pick up, especially if he's interchanging with other similarly versatile players in that zone, like Rooney, RvP, Nani etc.

In theory, this could work. In theory...

I've followed Kagawa closely for several years now, and I have to say that he can play as a "winger". His performances go from "mediocre" to "brilliant", depending on the game, so he's not a bad option. Especially considering how crap our wingers currently are! If given time, Kagawa can develop into a pretty good winger.

The problem is: that's probably his limits. "A pretty good winger". Kagawa is by nature not a winger, not even a modern one. It's therefore wasteful to try and convert him now. In the AM role, he is already brilliant! He's potentially world class within few years! Why would we throw away that for a potentially "pretty good winger"? It doesn't make sense anymore. In the begining it made sense because we didn't have a choice and we had to try it. But the season so far has shown overwhelming evidence for Kagawa being a totally different player in the AM role.

I think it's about time we try Rooney in different positions. After all, he's the verstile one. Not Kagawa.

 

[Brophs]

It's Kagawa's job to adapt to us as much as it is us to him. He'll be fine. He's a clever footballer. He'll come good.

 

[MDFC Manager]

The talk of Fergie "fecking over" Kagawa is quite strange. The reasons he's not played much or not played in the hole is because of the unplanned purchase of RvP as well as that he was injured for a while.

 

[Zen86]

Kagawa's main strengths for me are his quick passing and ability to operate in tight spaces, not necessarily things I'd associate with being a success out on the wing.

 

[AttackingFlair]

I think it's about time we try Rooney in different positions. After all, he's the verstile one. Not Kagawa.

I think you'll find Rooney has been tried in different positions his whole career at United, but we know he's more productive in central areas. He's scored 34 goals as a main striker in 09/10 and 34 goals behind the striker last year, maybe it's actually beneficial for the team to keep him in central roles.

 

[Mad Winger]

Kagawa's main strengths for me are his quick passing and ability to operate in tight spaces, not necessarily things I'd associate with being a success out on the wing.

To paraphrase Alberto Zaccheroni:

"Kagawa's greatest strength lies in his 'quickness on the ball'. The way he perfectly stops the ball in any situation and then manages to convert it into a pass or a shot, is simply brilliant. It all happens incredibly fast, but it's also so accurate! Because of this, you can always rely on Kagawa controlling the ball when you pass it to him, and also expect him to create something, seeing as he is very clever and effective. That, in short, is what makes Kagawa a great player."

Sounds like the ideal AM to me. His ball control, passing accuracy, vision and clever movement means that he can do a decent shift on the wing or in CM, but there's no doubt about where he goes from "good" to "spectacular".

 

[AttackingFlair]

Isn't that the guy who plays Kagawa on the left?

 

[Mad Winger]

Isn't that the guy who plays Kagawa on the left?

Yeah, but that's just a compromise because Japan's 2nd or 3rd best player(Honda) is mediocre outside the AM position. It's kind of a similar situation as we have in United.

Recently though, he's began to play Kagawa in the AM role. I'm not sure if it's permanent or not, but he's obviously a bit frustrated having to play his best player out of position, even though he feels that Kagawa is good on the left as well.

 

[Theon]

In theory, this could work. In theory...

I've followed Kagawa closely for several years now, and I have to say that he can play as a "winger". His performances go from "mediocre" to "brilliant", depending on the game, so he's not a bad option. Especially considering how crap our wingers currently are! If given time, Kagawa can develop into a pretty good winger.

The problem is: that's probably his limits. "A pretty good winger". Kagawa is by nature not a winger, not even a modern one. It's therefore wasteful to try and convert him now. In the AM role, he is already brilliant! He's potentially world class within few years! Why would we throw away that for a potentially "pretty good winger"? It doesn't make sense anymore. In the begining it made sense because we didn't have a choice and we had to try it. But the season so far has shown overwhelming evidence for Kagawa being a totally different player in the AM role.

I think you'll find Rooney has been tried in different positions his whole career at United, but we know he's more productive in central areas. He's scored 34 goals as a main striker in 09/10 and 34 goals behind the striker last year, maybe it's actually beneficial for the team to keep him in central roles.

Agree with both of these, which is why there's no clear answer to this selection problem. We just have so many great players who want to play central. There's no perfect way around this and quite simply one will always be played out of their favoured position.

 

[AttackingFlair]

If Kagawa fights for the behind the striker position and makes it his own then fair play but at the moment Rooney is delivering for us and his goals recently are a reason why we've extended our gap at the top. Rooney has also played various roles for us in his career and has done his best which is what we should expect of every other player as well.

Despite this Kagawa vs Rooney argument, I actually think Kagawa links up best with Rooney compared to our other forwards. A 4312 formation would be an interesting experiment but that's not how we play.

 

[Mad Winger]

If Kagawa fights for the behind the striker position and makes it his own then fair play but at the moment Rooney is delivering for us and his goals recently are a reason why we've extended our gap at the top.

I guess the main problem for me is that Kagawa is a better AM than Rooney. When Rooney plays in the hole behind the striker, he's not really working as an AM, but rather as a versatile, hardworking striker who helps out in CM. While this has been effective for us, I don't think there's any doubt that we would be better off with Kagawa in AM and Rooney as the main striker. The problem with this though, is that it leaves RVP on the bench, which simply isn't going to happen, seeing as he is the PL topscorer(last season) and also arguably in his prime.

The best course of action is probably the way we're doing things right now: rotation. Kagawa plays 50% of the time in AM and on the wing the rest of the time. In terms of the AM position, it's not ideal. But there's just no way we're not gonna score goals with both Rooney and RVP, so it's a pretty safe bet none the less. Rooney turns 28 this year, and RVP turns 30. Kagawa just turned 24, so he's the future. There's no need to rush things(though it pains me to see him on the wing).

Despite this Kagawa vs Rooney argument, I actually think Kagawa links up best with Rooney compared to our other forwards.

I agree completely! Kagawa and Rooney are a match made in heaven! A really small and illogical part of me is actually pissed off that we signed RVP, because I was really looking forward to see the Roogawa combination. We got a small taste of it against Norwich, and boy was that awesome.

We're in a bit of a luxury situation right now, to be fair. Nevertheless, I still think that this is our best attack in terms of balance:

Carrick - Cleverley
Nani - Kagawa - Welbeck
Rooney​

 

[hungrywing]

The talk of Fergie "fecking over" Kagawa is quite strange. The reasons he's not played much or not played in the hole is because of the unplanned purchase of RvP as well as that he was injured for a while.

Agree regarding the unplanned RvP thing: if he hadn't joined up we'd almost surely be looking at a much more impressive stat-line from Kagawa and everyone's happy.

All that aside, I think with a bit of tweaking, playing him on the left in a 442 and at the same time allowing him to play his preferred AM role is possible; letting him drift centrally like that other Asian "winger" we had. But all that is up to the staff.

Personally I'm really curious to see how something like this would fare:

-----RVP----Rooney----
--------Kagawa--------
-Clev------------Nani--
--------Carrick---------

Rooney and Kagawa in more-or-less free roles; both have good enough workrate. As for the "zomg-no-midfield" factor, I think if that formation clicks, it'd be enough to start making the opposition start lining up defensively, the way everyone started doing after Ronaldo's breakout season.

 

[Beachryan]

I've no idea how to work it out, but I'd still absolutely love to see all the 'smart' players on the pitch at the same time (footballing, not off the field), without sacrificing the width we need.

It's an FM masterpiece, but probably wouldn't ever work in practice:

--Rooney----Kagawa------RVP---
------------Hernandez-----------

The movement and passing potential...drool...

 

[Bear Attack]

Rooney should be played in the hole. Kagawa will just have to get used to playing as an attacking midfielder on the left.

 

[Judge Red]

@S_Kagawa0317: Tomorrow is the Manchester Derby!The town is rising more than usual. I will play with the pride as United!

Yay, he's bringing his pet lions to play in the derby.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

The talk of Fergie "fecking over" Kagawa is quite strange. The reasons he's not played much or not played in the hole is because of the unplanned purchase of RvP as well as that he was injured for a while.

Myth.

Sir Alex has openly said it took him two months of knocking on Wenger's door to get the agreement sorted for RVP. It wasn't unplanned, it was just unexpected in the public eye.

After all, he was also planning on Hazard and/or Moura.

Kagawa's 1st season hasn't been all guns blazing mainly due to his 2-3 month absence as he was slowly starting to settle in. Had he not had that long-term injury I'm pretty sure we'd be talking about how good a season he has had. He will perform best in the hole, but I have no doubts in my mind that he can do a job in other roles, and at a club like this with many good players challenging for spaces it shouldn't be up for debate if a player is occasionally out of position.

We've not really had a 10 game spell of Kagawa, Rooney and RVP being fit at the same time until now. With the wingers so out of form, I can see these three having a good end to the season and developing that understanding in fast-paced PL games.

 

[Backrow Singer]

It always takes time for foreign signings to settle in, not only on the pitch, but off it is as well. It takes time for players to become accustomed to a new culture, a new way of life etc.., and I expect he is coming to the end of that 'transitional period' now. On the pitch, it took him a while to find any sort if form due to early season injuries, but when he has got himself out on the field, he has shown glimpses of what to expect, and what we can look forward to.

His movements excellent, and he has that rare ability to find space in tight areas, and at times, he has shown that he has the range of passing to be able to exploit that. Again, technically he has shown he has the ability, but not on a consistent basis, and that is where he needs to improve in my opinion. There have been games, or periods in games where he has looked excellent, but it's all about stringing these moments together, and displaying them on a consistent basis. What I have noticed about him is that he is prepared to put a shift in wherever he plays, and as I say, we have plenty to build up on.

He certainly isn't a winger, but it's good to have a little bit of variety, and overall, I think we have that in the wide areas. Unfortunately they haven't really displayed it this year, but what this squad is able to do is adapt, and Kagawa has added another string to our bow in an attacking sense. As I say, he hasn't started off like a house on fire, and I didn't expect him to tbh, but he has shown enough glimpses for us to have high hopes, and we certainly have plenty to work with and build up on.

 

[Platato]

Good post mate. I see why you they promoted you for someone who has only just joined in February. Good sense of perspective.

 

[blitz133w]

It always takes time for foreign signings to settle in, not only on the pitch, but off it is as well. It takes time for players to become accustomed to a new culture, a new way of life etc.., and I expect he is coming to the end of that 'transitional period' now. On the pitch, it took him a while to find any sort if form due to early season injuries, but when he has got himself out on the field, he has shown glimpses of what to expect, and what we can look forward to.

His movements excellent, and he has that rare ability to find space in tight areas, and at times, he has shown that he has the range of passing to be able to exploit that. Again, technically he has shown he has the ability, but not on a consistent basis, and that is where he needs to improve in my opinion. There have been games, or periods in games where he has looked excellent, but it's all about stringing these moments together, and displaying them on a consistent basis. What I have noticed about him is that he is prepared to put a shift in wherever he plays, and as I say, we have plenty to build up on.

He certainly isn't a winger, but it's good to have a little bit of variety, and overall, I think we have that in the wide areas. Unfortunately they haven't really displayed it this year, but what this squad is able to do is adapt, and Kagawa has added another string to our bow in an attacking sense. As I say, he hasn't started off like a house on fire, and I didn't expect him to tbh, but he has shown enough glimpses for us to have high hopes, and we certainly have plenty to work with and build up on.

Agree with every point. But i think the rest of the team also deserve to take some of the blame for kagawa's shortcomings. This whole team is used to wing play and many players are reluctant to pass the ball to a player who doesn't have much space to work the ball, specially someone who plays centrally. Kagawa thrives on such situations. Next year the team will gel even more and we'll soon see the best of him. We'll soon see little change in tactics and will play more centrally in some games which will bring out kagawa's best. I am ready to be as patient as possible in his case. Very exciting player

 

[moses]

Does Fergie know where he wants to play him? He has historic blind spots with number 10's. Most famously not knowing where to play Zidane if we bought him or trying to make Scholes a striker. I think Kagawa has done enough to get more minutes than he has.

 

[Skywarden]

That was a bit puzzling.

 

[100]

The new 'not allowed'? Two games in a row where we've failed to retain possession and we've opted for wingers who've had nightmares this year.

 

[kouroux]

Why did he sign him if it's to introduce him when Young gets injured ??? Not being helped by SAF at all

 

[Platato]

i agree moses why didn he come on sooner

 

[Leg-End]

Scored a sublime hat trick, can't get a start since.

 

[kouroux]

Scored a sublime hat trick, can't get a start since.

Maybe he should have stuck with a safer style of football, back passing galore

 

[LARulz]

Perfect decision to not bring him on till its too late......

fecking hell, has he pissed in Ferguson's cornflakes or something?

 

[gza the genius]

I feel sorry for him, it seems it doesn't matter how poor others are Sir Alex just won't use Kagawa. This game was crying out for some creativity on our part and in the end Kagawa only gets on with 2 minutes left and most likely only because Young got injured.

 

[Slevs]

Must be pretty frustrated these last few weeks.

 

[Sphaero]

Weird not to see him sooner today. This was a typical game, where Kagawa could have made a difference with one brilliant scene.

I was not really closely involved with United related news in the last couple of weeks, but did something happen to Kagawa, which would explain his lack of recent play time?

 

[Cevno]

Scored a sublime hat trick, can't get a start since.

Missed the Sunderland game, i take it ?

 

[Fergus' son]

He surely has to start as a second striker in our next game? Wether that means dropping Rooney or RVP, I don't care. Either one of them and Kagawa.