Can he play in a midfield tw....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Adel Taarabt
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss Amad saving our blushes in a win against Southampton as well as our now annual loss at home to Brighton. They discuss Amorim's post-match comments, revisit how mid-table we may or may not be, and discuss some transfer news.
He questioned Taarabt's natural ability compared to Marin, then mentioned how average Taarabt is most of the time. I just thought I'd highlight that Marin didn't contribute much in way of goals/assists for somebody who isn't as average as Taarabt.
All I know is that I've seen some brilliant stuff from him in the past, and I know a handful of season ticket holders at QPR and they rave about him. If fergie can channel his abilities then he could be a great player. It's all ifs and buts, but I think he has talent.
Sir Alex does love a gamble but I think this one's just too far even for him. When he first got a few cameos for Spurs you could see the obvious potential, but last season he looked a very average player. An average player with the potential to do something spectacular, sure, but his overall influence in games was not remotely impressive. I mean, Laurent Robert was pretty spectacular too. He wasn't particularly talented though. Taraabt has more vision and skill than someone like Robert but I don't think he really is that gifted. He just makes far more of an effort to show off his skills than the others on his level, so the few times it comes off it makes people stand up and take notice. Can see why people are drawn to him because we are lacking a bit of flair but I'd be seriously worried if Sir Alex even considered it, personally.
He's best off when he cuts out the pointless shite and runs directly at players. He's big and strong with a good strike on him. The rest of him is quite hard to figure out.
All that is good and subtle, but when SAF couldn't come around with Morrison (who was our youth product), what makes you think we will be able to mould Taarabt into something better? This is not questioning Fergie but more to do with the players' mentality. Taarabt has just shown flashes of brilliance here and there. Same was the deal with Morrison. We tipped him for better things, but look where he is now.
Taarabt, at best, will be a player for teams in the middle of the pack, not the ones at the top.
Taarabt, at best, will be a player for teams in the middle of the pack, not the ones at the top.
I like him and would like to see him in our squad if the price is right.
He is a great talent with extraordinary skills. His lack of consistency is an obvious risk, but may this be caused by the fact that he plays in a far inferior team?
He has the talent to emerge into a world class player, and will based on age and skill alternatively be sold without significant loss in the future. I would therefore choose to prioritize potential over risk.
He is a great talent with extraordinary skills. His lack of consistency is an obvious risk, but may this be caused by the fact that he plays in a far inferior team?
He has the talent to emerge into a world class player, and will based on age and skill alternatively be sold without significant loss in the future. I would therefore choose to prioritize potential over risk.
What worries me about Taarabt is his ability to make the wrong choices. He shoots when he should play the ball - and plays the ball when he should shoot.
With the ball at his feet - he is excellent.
With the ball at his feet - he is excellent.
You've got a point. However, I think you can write last season off to a degree because his head was turned by a potential transfer that didn't happen (was it PSG?) and the change in managers didn't help either. This obviously points to his questionable attitude and commitment, which people have already raised as a negative.
As for Sir Alex considering him, I'm sure Neil Warnock was quoted last season as saying that United came to see Taarabt, but he had a strop and messed up his chances. If that was true, there could be an element of truth to the rumours and we might still be interested.
He has played well this season though. He might have been poor far too often last season but he is getting to the age where he should be maturing and he seems to being, there is little doubt that the talent is there, it looks like the kind of bargain deal that SAF might fancy.
At 12m, I don't think that there is any need to be 'seriously worried' about it.
Lucas at 30m seems more batshit mental to me.
But we weren't talking about contribution, we were talking about natural ability. Obviously Marin has played very poorly recently for Bremen - he really suffered from Ozil's departure - and why Chelsea decided to buy him now is beyond me. But before his dip, he was consistently excellent in a way that Taarabt never has been. In 2010-11, he scored 5 and assisted 11, and he has absurdly good 'key pass' type stats. He was also just obviously brilliant, regularly going on the sort of runs that beat entire defences and drew the predictable overexcited Messi comparisons. At the age of 21/22, he was Bremen's best player that season, and the question was regularly whether the big teams would swoop for him, or for Ozil.
So I think claiming that Taraabt has more 'natural ability' than him is indicative of the way in which the Moroccan is overrated in the PL just because he's a 'flair' player.
Really? I that find that really difficult to get my head around but as always I'll trust his judgement when it comes down to it. Wouldn't be happy at all with the transfer though. It almost seems a little, I dunno, desperate? You had a much bigger talent in Ben Arfa in the exact same situation two years ago - attitude problems but clearly talented and available at a decent price - and we didn't go in for him so to look at an obviously lesser player...don't like it at all.
I have little interest in transfer fees myself. I just know that Lucas is a great, young talent with a fantastic attitude that matches the club's and manager's values, while Taarabt has a questionable attitude and has not looked a great talent. People can point to Cantona, Ronaldo or Keane in terms of various personality traits but they were all hugely determined, motivated people. Taraabt has regularly shown himself to be the complete opposite. He might well be maturing to the extent that he's now no longer a liability but I'd be surprised to see such a complete turnaround in mentality.
It seems like there are a bunch of transfer rumors floating around going into the January transfer window. The only conclusion that can be drawn at this point is that United are shopping for a left-sided player. They are looking at the bargain store (Taarabt), second hand (Baines), the high end (James Rodriguez), special auction (Ozil), and new this season (Zaha). If they sell Nani, then they will have done due diligence before deciding what sort of shopping fits our budget and plans in the new year.
Availability of the first, second and sometimes even third choices is rarely guarenteed especially in January. If the club is unsatisfied with the options, then Nani will have to wait like Berbatov did before finally leaving.
Availability of the first, second and sometimes even third choices is rarely guarenteed especially in January. If the club is unsatisfied with the options, then Nani will have to wait like Berbatov did before finally leaving.
Only a couple of pages ago I was saying how impressed I'd been by home recently. Saw a couple of games and he looked like he'd focused his talents and was becoming an effective footballer. Then he had a u-turn against us and was pretty crap.
Hughes was just saying before he got sacked how well Taarabt had been doing and that there were big clubs keeping tabs on him again, though I doubt we are one of them.
Hughes was just saying before he got sacked how well Taarabt had been doing and that there were big clubs keeping tabs on him again, though I doubt we are one of them.
If you are only interested in player quality/attitude, rather than transfer fee - Obertan must have given you a freaking hernia.
I take your point about his attitude, earlier in the thread I was saying exactly the same. He just seems that bit different this year. I would fully expect that we are looking at Taraabt, if a bid ever materialises is an entirely different matter.
Lets see... So far he averages 4 shots per game. Thats more than any of our players, which shows how often he tries to do it all himself in a team that has far, far less of the ball than ours. This has however resulted in 2 goals.
He has also created oppertunities for teammates without giving the ball away all the time, 81% pass accuracy is slightly surprising to me with a player like him. But when he does keep it simple I have noticed that he can indeed pass the ball around and retain fairly well. He goes for a dribble more than any of our players this season and has been dispossessed only as much as Valencia and Evra. But has also passed to the opposition more than any of our players... Again, with him creating chances often I guess thats to be expected.
However with our clear emphasis on keeping the ball better this season it would seem like a strange move to go for another unpredictable player like Nani, but one who is even more frustrating.
He has also created oppertunities for teammates without giving the ball away all the time, 81% pass accuracy is slightly surprising to me with a player like him. But when he does keep it simple I have noticed that he can indeed pass the ball around and retain fairly well. He goes for a dribble more than any of our players this season and has been dispossessed only as much as Valencia and Evra. But has also passed to the opposition more than any of our players... Again, with him creating chances often I guess thats to be expected.
However with our clear emphasis on keeping the ball better this season it would seem like a strange move to go for another unpredictable player like Nani, but one who is even more frustrating.
Id take a punt on him, but not for £12 million.......If we could get him for 5 ish Id go for it and hope that being around SAF Scholes Giggs etc could be the thing that motivates him to be what ho could be.
You and Brightonian both have a point about Ben Arfa. Perhaps, at the time, Fergie was satisfied with Nani and Valencia. Ben Arfa also had a pretty bad injury about 2 years ago, so perhaps that put Fergie off?
Clearly a talent, but I'm not sure if even Fergie himself can correct his attitude problem.
I actually was reasonably excited about the man because I think it was Ekeke who mentioned at the time that he was a star of one of the recent youth tournaments, and even though he had some truly diabolical touches (I put it down to nerves) he looked like he could beat a man and have the composure to pick out a pass. I even wanted Obertan on the team ahead of Nani at one point!
That's true. The injury doesn't really have anything to do with it because the time to get him on the cheap was when he was leaving Marseille which was before the injury. £7m. There were links with him at the time but I didn't think it was a good idea for us to go in for him for the same reasons I don't think we should go in for Taarabt, but I'd definitely have preferred us going for Ben Arfa then than Taarabt now. I'll give him a watch this year though, completely wrote him off last season myself.
Really? Talent wise there isn't an issue imo but obviously there's an issue with other things
Looked very impressive in the first half.With a bit of guidance.
Anybody got stats of his completed passes against us? I think he was quite impressive, and was the only player who looked assured and confident that day.
How did he play last night?
He was very Welbecky last nigh for the first 60 minutes that I saw.
He does seem a bit overweight, specially evident with his style of play
Imagine the Tarabaat thread if we did sign him! This guy is mercurial; possibly lazy; possibly arrogant; possibly fat, possibly psychologically weak; probably jaded and he might just be brilliant.
It would be the most divisive thread ever.
Unstoppable today apparently
You've seen the Berbatov thread yes ?
12 fantasy points today. Bliss.
Berbs was never fat!
His second was awesome.
But he did also have sexiness going for him in a way that Taarabt doesn't.
Also his hair and use of Alice band.
Then him having short sleeves was a talking point.
Taarabt certainly has a long way to go.
Second was incredible tekkers
Anyway chaps Taarabt
I think that he has been playing very well all season despite being in a garbage team. This guy is the kind of luxury player that could fit in here. He is still young enough and talented enough to develop into something really special too.
I think that he has been playing very well all season despite being in a garbage team. This guy is the kind of luxury player that could fit in here. He is still young enough and talented enough to develop into something really special too.
Hell no.
Talented.
"Fruit cake" 'Arry.
"Fruit cake" 'Arry.
Yup, me too. Thanks but no thanks.
Spoken about in glowing terms by 'Arry today, said he never wanted to sell him at Spurs. Looks like they have made up a bit.