14 Mar 2015 03:03:18
I have just been reading through all the posts on here and then 1 caught my eye and made steam come out of my ears. not because i'm Irish or anything but simply because one of the best players in the Irish team was slated.
SPB
FOR THE RECORD. James Mccarthy is a great Midfielder and on his day can put in a great shift, Ok so he is not technically able to do the tricks and keepy uppies like the foreign players but either could ROY KEANE and look how good he was. Too me it seems that many folk here have a bad attitude and if a player can't keepy uppie or have a foreign name then he simply won't be good enough when its the complete opposite. The post Ed007 ( Bond ) wrote about Mccarthy was spot on, He needs to be playing with better players to see his worth. I believe we have said the same thing about our best players at UTD playing with squad players and looking average. If DM had of got him instead of Wiggy we would be in a better place now and Rooney would not have to carry the burden of back tracking that so many of you moan about.
from past players signed at UTD can anyone tell me how much was spent on EU players and their names then Non EU players and names etc for players like ADM, Veron, Rojo, Kleberson, Anderson, Djemba Djemba, Forlan and Heinze etc.
Then from the EU theirs Mata, Berbatov, Rooney, Shaw, RVN, Herrera, Ronalado, Blind etc
I don't think their has been 1 good player for ITD outside of the EU but they work well for other teams.
{Ed001's Note - Ed007 is blinded by love for McCarthy, he is a very good midfielder, but he is at his level. Simply lacks the footballing intelligence Keane had, for instance, and tries to make up for it by running around a lot. Too often caught in the wrong areas because of that and that is why Barry is needed by Everton. If he was able to learn positioning, he wouldn't have to run around so much and would be a much better player. Same with Rooney. They look great on TV, but in reality they are wasting most of their effort in the wrong areas of the pitch.}
14 Mar 2015 07:47:00
Englsh football syndrome again! :)
I agree with Ed in that in this country we are too impressed with players who are 6 foot 4, strong, fast and can run all day type players (I know McCarthy and Rooney don't fit all that criteria).
If our teams are to improve in Europe, and our national team, we need to stop craving this 100mph football and embrace a more technical style and have players with a good football brain.
Unfortunately, more technical football is not always as exciting to watch. Personally, I think United are on the right track, but still with a lot to do. If we can continue to keep possession of the ball like we have been, but add a bit more speed to our attacking play, we should develop into a much better team.
Whether LvG is the man to do this is another matter, but I do agree with his desire to keep the ball and be more "considered in our play.
14 Mar 2015 09:46:32
Good post Betty, English football is obsessed with a certain type of player, powerful, strong, fast etc. The ball seems to get lost in all this.
It's all well and good if a player is fast but if he can't control the ball then what is the point.Bellion, Obertan anyone? The ability to PASS THE BALL, with speed, accuracy and intelligence is far more important than physical speed.The brain must be fast.Look at the top European teams.Look at United mid 90's: from back to the front, fast, intelligent passing. Schmeichel, Irvine, Rio, Staam, Scholes, Butt, not necessarily physically fast but they could play the ball with speed and get it to the likes of Giggs, Kanchelskis etc.
There was also the desire to get the ball back quickly and I feel this is one of the main problems with van Gaal and his positional obsession, players seem to be confused about being in their zone and actually getting the ball back.
I was hopeful of van Gaal turning it round.He still might.But I really didn't see it being as boring and dull as what is being described as football at the moment.It really is disappointing and puzzling.
14 Mar 2015 11:40:45
James McCarthy would play better with creative midfielders beside him, he can break up the play, he has a good passing range has bags of energy, I agree with bond, our forward players would have more freedom with him in there, most under rated midfielder in the league
14 Mar 2015 12:53:55
He does do a lot of the dirty work in midfield.
14 Mar 2015 13:48:03
I think the fact we are talking about McCarthy shows how poor our midfield is. He is a good player but not somebody you want starting if you are intending to win the league or CL. We have too many of those which is why we are where we are (amongst other key reasons).
14 Mar 2015 14:11:12
Irvine was one of my favourite ever players.
14 Mar 2015 15:26:35
Should we really settle for someone less than World Class. I believe De Jong is at par or better than McCarthy.
But I would like United to sign either Carvalho or Pogba or someone who is destined to being World Class.
We signed Blind for 15m, Chelsea signed Fabregas for 25m, we know who's had the better impact.
14 Mar 2015 21:51:00
Damn this bloody dyslexic auto spell!
Irwin, obviously. Legend.