Because that's how you gain trust with a new manager, and cement your place in the side. Bear in mind Moyes has seen RVP and Rooney a lot for the past ten or so years, so he knows how they play - he gave Rooney his big break ffs. He's never seen enough of Kagawa. Credit to him, for not listening to us and the press and by watching what shinji is. Could he have played him more? Oh definitely, but does kagawa warrant an automatic starting place just because he is Shinji Kagawa like you say? No.
Shinji Kagawa
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Because that's how you gain trust with a new manager, and cement your place in the side. Bear in mind Moyes has seen RVP and Rooney a lot for the past ten or so years, so he knows how they play - he gave Rooney his big break ffs. He's never seen enough of Kagawa. Credit to him, for not listening to us and the press and by watching what shinji is. Could he have played him more? Oh definitely, but does kagawa warrant an automatic starting place just because he is Shinji Kagawa like you say? No.
I'll tell you what I think the reason is - Fergie. He wasn't a guaranteed starter under Fergie and I'm sure there were reasons for that. Obviously Moyes has taken this on board when he has discussed it with him and is trying to get certain things from Kagawa.
His defensive work was great tonight and he protected the ball well whilst also linking up play, it all came together. Since Moyes arrived he hasn't shown all of these aspects, even going back as far as pre-season. Defensively he was a bit hit and miss even under Fergie. Tonight was probably the best I've seen him in that respect, so I think whatever Moyes is doing is obviously working and will serve him well here in the long run.
You should just be happy that it is starting to come together for Shinji. I'm chuffed for him.
Loved how he always looked forward when he received the ball. Fantastic performance tonight. His speed of thought is very good and everyone already knows about his technical ability.
His agility, quickness in getting the ball under control and spinning away from his marker to create space out of nothing is magnificent. Far superior than anyone else in the squad. It seemed that we saw more chances created through him than we have in our last couple games..
Bloody hell.
Good to hear that he had a good game. Hopefully he can build from here now and get a run of games to cement his spot.
how about we play a diamond formation like this:
De Gea
Rafael Jones Evans Evra
Carrick
Cleverley Januzaj
Kagawa
Rooney Van Persie
This gives the midfield more bodies such that we wont get over run, we got enough technique there to be able to retain possession and Kagawa can pull the strings behind RVP and Rooney. We can occasionally get Januzaj to provide width on the left but mainly stay central where I feel he will do better and Cleverley likewise; we can use him to occasionally provide width on the right but mainly stay central. With this system we would need our wingbacks to provide the real width and thats something our wingbacks are very good at. In a system like this, Baines would be an ideal wingback.
De Gea
Rafael Jones Evans Evra
Carrick
Cleverley Januzaj
Kagawa
Rooney Van Persie
This gives the midfield more bodies such that we wont get over run, we got enough technique there to be able to retain possession and Kagawa can pull the strings behind RVP and Rooney. We can occasionally get Januzaj to provide width on the left but mainly stay central where I feel he will do better and Cleverley likewise; we can use him to occasionally provide width on the right but mainly stay central. With this system we would need our wingbacks to provide the real width and thats something our wingbacks are very good at. In a system like this, Baines would be an ideal wingback.
Can't see Moyes doing that. Would be nice. But I think we have a problem with Rooney and RVP working together well.
I understand why people have wanted to see more of Kagawa before now based on how hes looked before this season but tonight was the first time this season that hes actually looked fit and sharp which considering how late back to training he was isnt that unexpected. For the type of game he plays he has to be really sharp both physically and mentally to be effective because hes not a player who can rely on strength or pace to make up for his lack of sharpness like other players can. This is the first time this season that hes looked anywhere close to his old self and he looked a different player not only in his play on the ball but also his pressuring players and movement off the ball which were such a big part of his play at Dortmund. Realistically up until now he had done nothing to warrant a place in the team but hopefully this game can be a turning point for him because when hes fit and sharp he really does offer us something special. I think Hernandez is in a similar boat having missed preseason and as another payer who relies on being sharper than players around him and I hope he can get stronger as the season goes on as well.
Rooney has been in very good form this season and RVP has been arguably the best forward player in the EPL over the last two years. Moyes starts both of these players because they are both better players than Kagawa. Any sane manager would give them a run first and try and fit the other options around them. Kagawa has hardly been tearing up any trees with his performances this season before today and is a similar boat to all the other forward players other than Januzaj, who has made an impression every time.
I really think some on here have forgotten how good Rooney and RVP are or let them their own personal feelings cloud their judgement.
A point that many can argue is that he hasn't been given nearly enough chances to do so. He played 45 minutes in the league, in which he was pretty good but got subbed off for whatever reason, and played against Leverkusen and Liverpool while he was just coming back to build up fitness. The problem most people have is that we haven't given him hardly any chances, and we're getting close to November, which is a ridiculous to be honest. Hopefully he can kick on now though.
Easy to forget how good Januzaj has actually been since the WBA game(Kagawa's last start). Match winner against Sunderland and impressive enough against Southampton. Why should his progress be hindered for Kagawa when he has the same difficulties in competition for places with Rooney and RVP around when he has taken the opportunities given to him. It's not as if someone like Young has been playing week in week out over Kagawa. Januzaj is seen by most as a dogs bollocks type prospect.
I love Kagawa but this should be obvious to anyone really. Rooney and Van Persie have established themselves as world class players and some of the best players in the world, and you don't drop those types of players, unless they are in poor form for an extended period of time, like Rooney at the end of last season. You persist with them even if they have 5 poor games in a row because you know how good they can be at their best. Kagawa has looked pretty good when he's played in the premier league mostly, but he has by no means been world class. He's obviously got to prove to Moyes and everyone else that he can hack it in the premier league, because even though I don't think he's been shit by any means, he's been just decent, which is far away from how good he was at Dortmund. If he fulfills his potential, then he can become world class, but he has to prove that first.
Not forgetting that or saying Kagawa should have started ahead of him. But Januzaj has only had 2 starts so far. We've played 8 games since Kagawa had his first start appearance for us this season against Leverkusen, and he only featured in 2 other games apart from today. Considering how much we have seen Young, Giggs and Welbeck (hasn't been that great apart from first game against Swansea) this season, I think it's safe to say Kagawa should have at least had a lot more sub appearances, if not more starts.
His match highlights...
I think Kagawa has featured about as much(if not more) than Hernandez and that's probably due to their disrupted pre-season. Plus having someone like Januzaj make such an impact has certainly cut down on on some of the opportunities he would have had. Moyes has had a period of looking at most of the squad and now we are seeing more of a consistent selection. Young's not featured much since City and Giggs is competing for a different spot. You could say Welbeck should have played less but he was very good opening day and justified his start against Shaktar. Not exactly been a fixture in the side himself.
Even after today, our selection for Saturday comes down to Januzaj or Kagawa if RVP is fit which is a difficult decision to make. Very possible he might start in the League cup in the ten role alongside Hernandez and be sub against Stoke.
For me, Januzaj's emergence means we are carrying one too many attackers in the squad even before you get to Zaha at the moment for everyone to get enough games.
Oh ooh yellow fever
Them turns. 
Hes actually played more minutes than Young and Januzaj and only about 50 less than Giggs and Nani which considering he had no pre season isnt that bad. The games he was on the bench for were against Swansea, Chelsea, City, Sunderland and Southampton. For the game against Swansea he had only played 90 minutes in Japan 3 days earlier and we brought on Rooney instead who got 2 late assists. Against Chelsea, Sunderland and Southampton we were trying to see out the games so he wasnt really likely to come on and against City we wouldnt really have had much to lose by bringing him on but we decided to go for damage limitation instead. The only game he really deserved more minutes in was the West Brom game but Moyes decided to try and change things by bringing on Januzaj
Had 2 headed flick ons to Rooney when he was moved central. Surprising for a midget.
Yeah, the comment about his off the ball movement is interesting for me. It looks like Shinji probably didn't do enough of that in training. Maybe this is just Moyes justifying his exclusion of Shinji before tonight. But I don't find his comment offensive. Moyes was just saying that that is the kind of performance that he has to produce if he wanted to stay on the team, and that's fair enough
To be fair what Moyes had said was fair, even if his treatment of Shinji hasn't been the best.. perhaps he's just been biding his time for the right moment to give Shinji his chance in the hole.
To be fair, people have been Young-Valencia'd into forgetting what it's like to have a front four mesh well enough to the point where we see the opposition decide to park the bus every week. Best defense is a good offense and all that.
love the way he's comfortable finding a way to face the opposition goal from a tight situation, that for me is something he has over anyone else bar probably nani and when he's in top form RVP. Everyone else including Rooney more often than not only really turning when there's no pressure. I think it just opens up more options for us.
I think he showed again if the understanding is right then starting left isn't a problem, the team just has to be set up to allow players such as Kagawa to drift. Players moving position to accommodate this shouldn't be a problem as all our players are smart and then defensively again I don't see a problem as no one is a slacker.
The main issue is just time to gel and sorting out the midfield as they need to give the protection but also passes to allow it to work.
I think he showed again if the understanding is right then starting left isn't a problem, the team just has to be set up to allow players such as Kagawa to drift. Players moving position to accommodate this shouldn't be a problem as all our players are smart and then defensively again I don't see a problem as no one is a slacker.
The main issue is just time to gel and sorting out the midfield as they need to give the protection but also passes to allow it to work.
Have you seen how much Rooney and Van Persie have done at United compared to Kagawa? Of course Moyes is going to know a bit more about them, that's just stupid.
Kagawa on the other hand has had onset season in this league and hasn't fully adapted yet, I'd wager that Moyes didn't have a clue about him when he joined up with us, do you really expect him to be the same about Rooney and Van Persie? That's just a plain stupid point.
Kagawa is not good enough to wing it at United... and he is understudy to Rooney for No 10 role, according to Neil Ashton's article on the Daily Mail.
Whilst that is arguably true, that article is shite.. it is like he never watched the game. Here Ashton..
It's the tone of the article. Read it here. He basically says that Kagawa had a poor game yesterday.
feck the Daily Mail, I hope it shuts down and every wanker working for them never gets a job again.
ShiNani should feature more from now on
ShiNani should feature more from now on
Was really pleased with his second half performance yesterday.
He always seems to come up with a way of creating chances even when off his game, but I thought last night he was looking like the player he can be. He and Rooney was at the heart of everything we created.
The most pleasing aspect for me was the period in the second half when he started really running things while still playing nominally wide, which was great to see. Obviously did well in the hole as well but it's nice to see he can work from the left for us.
Is it a coincidence that our two best attacking displays this season has come with Kagawa in the team? I really feel we look more fluid with him in the side (and, although potentially hazardous defensively, Giggs in CM).
He always seems to come up with a way of creating chances even when off his game, but I thought last night he was looking like the player he can be. He and Rooney was at the heart of everything we created.
The most pleasing aspect for me was the period in the second half when he started really running things while still playing nominally wide, which was great to see. Obviously did well in the hole as well but it's nice to see he can work from the left for us.
Is it a coincidence that our two best attacking displays this season has come with Kagawa in the team? I really feel we look more fluid with him in the side (and, although potentially hazardous defensively, Giggs in CM).
When you read stuff like that you do have to wonder if some journalists actually watch the game. Its like the ratings in the papers. Unless they have an absolute mare some players always get 7 out of 10 whereas others have to be amazing to get anything above 7 out of 10 and more often than not will get something like 5. Baffling.
Probably his best all round display he's had in a utd shirt.
Just a shame he didn't cap it with the goal he deserved!.
Just a shame he didn't cap it with the goal he deserved!.
Top lad that Redman83 from Derby. His response to that aberration was curt but succinct
"Sadly for Kagawa, he¿s still out of focus." Sadly for you, so is your 'journalism'."
It's as if Rooneys agent has written that himself.
He was very good, but he wasn't THAT good, and he had better games last season, Norwich springs to mind and one or two others, but it was certainly his best this season and should see him starting every European game from now on.
He was easily better vs Norwich I think too.
It's going to be interesting to see how Kagawa is utilised over the next few years. Whilst he's having to compete with Rooney at the moment for his favoured position, his competition is going to intensify massively when Januzaj is ready to play there. I think in the long run Kagawa will have to perform the sort of role that he did last night from the left.
Definitely in his top 3 games anyway, last night, Norwich and West Ham away are the stand outs in my eyes. Hopefully he can reach this form more often as he is class when he wants to be.
Thought he was absolute cack in the first five minutes but he'd turned it around by the hour mark. Clearly needs games to get back to his best.
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