Shinji Kagawa

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Agreed. It's one thing having players that are comfortable receiving, keeping and positively redistributing the ball in the middle 3rd, what I love about Kagawa is that he can do it all over the pitch, it helps in every aspect of our play. One thing I really noticed tonight is how much he speeds up our counter-attacks with his one and two-touch passing from the edge of the box.
 
Had money on Van Persie 4-0. He owes me money but I'll forgive him this once.
 
He's so composed on the ball basically everywhere on the pitch. Even though he missed the chance today, he showed great composure to set up the chance for himself, and he's showed similar composure plenty of other times in the box (goal v Norwich, assist last week). Such a classy player on the ball as well. Almost always picks the right decision.
 
Thought he was the second best player on the pitch. His first touch and close control is the best in the team. He's also amazingly calm inside the box, and that little feint to buy himself a yard just for him to sky it was just sexual.
 
Aint gota Kalou said:
Thought he was the second best player on the pitch. His first touch and close control is the best in the team. He's also amazingly calm inside the box, and that little feint to buy himself a yard just for him to sky it was just sexual.
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Very generius, he was largely invisible for the first while. Had a very good game but there were at least four others on the pitch better than him.
 
I loved the fact that he came inside to distribute. Some lovely passes. Still not the complete end product but we've a player on our hands if he steps it up next season. He'll be immense.
 
It seems to me that he encourages good short passing from his teammates, as well as being very good at it himself. Very good at making himself available for a pass, then moving it on.
 
Was gutted when Kagawa missed that chance, im suprised he tried to blast it instead of pass it into the net like he did against Norwich.

He is usually so composed, but i think as he went to shoot he slipped which made him lose balance.

He looked absolutely gutted afterwards, you could tell how disappointed he was with himself. Absolutely love the guy though, the setup for RVP's 3rd to Giggs was exactly why we bought him.
 
I was expecting you would say thing or two about his through ball from last night Pogue.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
His first touch and awareness is amazing. Has that Scholes-like ability to always know which direction to cushion the ball before it reaches him. Eyes in the back of his head.
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He's also like Scholes in that by the time he's received the ball he's already had 2 or 3 looks around and has a complete picture of where everyone is. Allows him to play it quickly and precisely. Great player.
 
Next year will be huge for him, like Silva/Mata in their second season. Amazing player, and we always knew he had it in him, he just needed to get a run and a bit of confidence. He also improves our style of play by quite a lot. Love him.
 
That dummy and the awareness it showcased was almost enough to make up for the miss
 
He just checked inside his man, I don't know why people are acting like it was some brilliant bit of skill.

Good game from him though and I agree he'll be much more influential next season.
 
it was a really bad miss, very out of character because he's usually very composed in front of goal and places shots or tricks the keeper rather than blasting it. Maybe it was just a mishit.
 
Plechazunga said:
He just checked inside his man, I don't know why people are acting like it was some brilliant bit of skill.

Good game from him though and I agree he'll be much more influential next season.
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That's not how I remember it. He let a pass run across his body and took it away with his left foot, when the defender was expecting him to stop the ball with his right. That's why the guy who was marking him got so comprehensively beaten. Lovely bit of deception.
 
It was the quickness of thought and the composure in that situation that was impressive. It's obviously not a difficult skill to pull off but it was quality nonetheless.
 
Stretch said:
I loved the fact that he came inside to distribute. Some lovely passes. Still not the complete end product but we've a player on our hands if he steps it up next season. He'll be immense.
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Eh? He played in the middle.
 
Plechazunga said:
I've watched it again, and I'm reverting to my previous position. Feints to shoot, cushions it inside with his right instead. Pretty standard.
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Thought he took it with his left but am relying on memory, as don't have means to watch it again. Either way it was the feint which made it special. Similar to the way he set up Valencia's goal against West Ham. He's leaving defenders on their arse before he's even played the ball. It's impressive.
 
Plechazunga said:
I've watched it again, and I'm reverting to my previous position. Feints to shoot, cushions it inside with his right instead. Pretty standard.
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It was a lovely feint Plech. Great composure and completely sold the defender.
 
Adebesi said:
This, really: it wasnt that it was a massively difficult skill, it was the effectiveness with which it was used - and in the box, which you dont see every day.
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It's all part of the composure he's shown in situations like that already this season. Incredibly calm in front of goal.

Which is why it was such a massive surprise when he skied the bloody thing over the bar!
 
Shinji Kagawa feels he could have offered more to Manchester United's title win

Kagawa, who arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund last summer, started his debut season at United brightly but suffered a knee injury in October which kept him sidelined for two months.

The 24-year-old scored five goals in 18 Premier League outings for the club, including his hat-trick in the 4-0 success over Norwich last month.

The Japan international has earned plaudits in his home country after helping United to a 20th league title but believes he could have offered more to Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

He said: "I was looking to produce even more results. I was injured and I felt things didn't go well easily.

"I had a lot of conflict, frustration and worries. In that sense, I think it has been a profound year.

"Honestly, I haven't contributed as much as I did at Dortmund.

"I was even injured. I still don't quite have that feeling of accomplishment."

Despite feeling he could have offered more on an individual level, Kagawa was pleased to be part of three successive title wins after helping Dortmund to back-to-back championships following his move from J-League club Cerezo Osaka in 2010.

The midfielder is hoping to build on that tally, adding: "I've managed to win three in a row. I think my career is bound to get better and better."
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http://www1.skysports.com/football/...offered-more-to-Manchester-United-s-title-win
 
He is right as on occasions I don't think he's taken as much responsibility for dictating the flow of a game as his talent could allow him to, but there is always the rest of the season and next year.
 
It's good that he's not just sitting back and resting on the success of the team. His honesty there is quite remarkable, and pleasing to hear. He had alot to adapt to, playing in a different position to what he was used to, with a different formation and tempo. He gradually got better and better though, which was very promising. So long as he can hold down a place in the starting line up, he will hopefully build on that. I believe he will.
 
Typical Japanese response that. He's never gonna be satisfied with himself unless he has solid "proof" of good results. In this case: a lot of important goals and assists. The Japanese have a ridiculously black and white view on anything that is based on results. A former Japanese boss of mine developed a marketing strategy that never really worked, and it was painfully obvious that it never was going to. All the foreign workers would complain and suggest that maybe it would be wise to change the method, seeing as it never had been a success. The Japanese staff on the other hand, never even questioned the method. They only saw the bad numbers and concluded: "we just have to work harder". It truly was hilarious, because they never dared to question the "all mighty boss' glorious strategy based on years of experience". Instead, they would try to look for mistakes that wasn't even there, and make reports and suggestions based on that. The most hilarious suggestion I heard was that we should stop taking toilet breaks, seeing as something might come up during that time.

I'm not saying that Kagawa is wrong or anything btw. He's obviously not been as good as he was in Dortmund. I just think it's worth noting that it takes a lot for him to be satisfied with himself, most likely because of his background.
 
Mad Winger said:
I'm not saying that Kagawa is wrong or anything btw. He's obviously not been as good as he was in Dortmund. I just think it's worth noting that it takes a lot for him to be satisfied with himself, most likely because of his background.
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I must have a bit of Japanese heritage then because I agree with everything that he said.

Could do better.
 
I'm guessing that's a poor translation because a lot of it reads quite strangely.

But yeah, I agree with what I think he's saying. He has had an up and down career at United so far and will expect/need to up his game next season. Encouraging first season though.
 
It's funny but you could tell from looking at him that he felt like this. He has a highly professional attitude and clearly wants to make an impact here.
 
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