As with everyone he's had an injury hit season but even when fit he hasn't generally been in the team, probably too early to ask this but does anyone see him as a regular starter in the future?
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- Appearances
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- 8
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- 5
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- 6
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I've definitely been underwhelmed so far. To be frank, I hadn't seen much of him before but when you fork out 28 million on a midfielder who was reportedly traced by Barca as well, you expect so much more than what we've seen when he has played. My main gripe is that it's hard to see anything he's spectacularly good at. I suppose his passing is his strongest asset but it's not quite as good as you might think considering his Spanishness. He does everything reasonably well but doesn't really excel at anything.
He's a pretty tidy player but certainly a disappointment at that price. He might still start quite a few games in the next few years but he's certainly not the mainstay to build our midfield around that I'd hoped, and there's no doubt we could still improve on him. It's a bit tragic to think that we neglected our midfield for so long and now we've spent 65 million on midfielders in the space of 18 months. Yet maybe both of them are more suited for the bench than the starting eleven.
I'm not sure, because LVG doesn't seem to want to use him as often as his performances suggest he should
Suspect he's been badly upset by the match fixing accusations and LvG will be protecting him. He's really quite young and this is his first season away from home. Wouldn't be suprised if the injury is a bit phony. The quote doesn't actually say he was injured.
Would love to know if it's true that van Gaal chose him over Kroos. Would make even less sense now given that he doesn't seem to fancy him much.
Christ, at least give the guy time to settle fully before bringing up his transfer fee as a stick to beat him with. Fellaini has only started to perform to his level for us after a hopeless first season. Some players, especially players new to a league, need time.
Transfer fees aren't irrelevant. You expect top-class at that price. When you consider the impact Kroos has had at Real at a lower price, I think it's fair to feel a bit underwhelmed.
Plus, Fellaini, while improved, is still not good enough for a United starting XI for me. Of course Herrera should be given time to settle, just saying that based on what we've seen so far, which is all I have to go by, I'm not seeing the top-class midfielder I'd hoped for.
There is something about Van Gaal, he can bench a player that he loves, just because he thinks that the rest of the team doesn't suit the said player abilities, for example Depay.
I highly doubt it.
Kroos had contract issues and chose Madrid. We were incredibly unlikely to be chosen instead of them, as is almost always the case. Kroos' fee is a lot less than it would normally be
Having said that we paid a large amount for Ander. A similar amount to Fabregas
Fabregas is probably a better reference. I only made the Kroos comparison because, according to some papers, it was a choice between Kroos and Herrera. If that's true (which I doubt because I trust that LVG knows football), I don't think anyone would argue that we got the better deal.
Of course, as with all our players, it's important to take into account that he's playing in a team that isn't playing incredibly well. He'd likely look a lot better if we were playing fast, fluid, one-touch football. That said, he's on the pitch to make that happen.
Kroos was quoted as saying that if he did join an English team, he'd only choose Chelsea.
The problem at the time was that Man Utd were a 7th place team and players were skeptical about joining a team who no longer had a top line manager.
He wanted to join a top team, so Man Utd was not really an option.
I think had LvG come a year earlier, it may have been different. But the choice was Kroos's to join Madrid.
The problem at the time was that Man Utd were a 7th place team and players were skeptical about joining a team who no longer had a top line manager.
He wanted to join a top team, so Man Utd was not really an option.
I think had LvG come a year earlier, it may have been different. But the choice was Kroos's to join Madrid.
He does make that happen. The pace of passing through the central areas has been noticeably quicker when Herrera has been on the pitch. When he has played he's been largely good for us. Perhaps his lack of game time is underwhelming but I think that's to our detriment. He can't really impress while sat on the bench, can he?
We'll just have to agree to disagree. I think he has done okay when he has played but not much more than that, bar a few games. Wouldn't say we've generally been better with him than without. The last two games, for instance, have been some of our most productive in terms of creating chances.
I don't think Fellaini is good enough for our starting XI either for the record, but my point is, he's still performed a country mile better than last season and it took him a long time to settle here despite playing in this league for around five season with Everton. Mata is another fine example isn't he?
Herrera has made nine appearances for us so far and it's not as if he'd walked into a settled midfield or team for that matter. We lost 5-3 to Leicester early doors, which says it all. I think it's still way to early to judge Herrera until he's gotten a few strings of games under his belt in the much improved side that we're starting to look now. Not the mess we were at the beginning of the season.
Is the concept of protecting him also include doing something that is detrimental to our team? We have been complaining that we don't have a midfield while we have one of the stepping stones out there to build a midfield. For me, it doesn't make any sense for him to spend that much time on the bench if not in the stands.
If he's anywhere fit, he should and must play. Some people say that he needs time to adapt to a new league and all that jazz, but I believe the only way he can achieve that is by playing more and more minutes on the pitch.
We will, although I'll reaffirm that I think it's blindingly obvious he makes a noticeable attempt to speed up our play. He really does do this and it would surprise me if you can't see this. I agree that we've been creating more chances in recent games, which is a good sign.
I'd sooner see us drop a striker when our midfielders return as I think we'll create even more.
That I agree with, there's just a certain other, even more expensive midfielder I'd see in the team before Herrera.
As a CM, I haven't seen anything from him to suggest he's close to Fabregas or Kroos considering his price tag, but as a CAM of Advanced midfielder he can definitely be worth the money we spent on him. I would love to see him replace Mata in the hole, he has looked good when he's further up the pitch.
I was expecting a lot more from him, but I will go with what Fergie said. The first six months are not enough to judge new signings. If we start making a report card right now, we screwed up big time in the summer. Apart from Blind, we have doubts about everyone whom we bought in the summer.
This team is in transition, the manager is settling in, the players are settling in, the club is recovering from a shock of a last season.
Di Maria, Falcao and Blind will have impacts this season. Herrera, Rojo and Shaw will be big players next season IMO.
This team is in transition, the manager is settling in, the players are settling in, the club is recovering from a shock of a last season.
Di Maria, Falcao and Blind will have impacts this season. Herrera, Rojo and Shaw will be big players next season IMO.
If he's a nervous wreck there's not much point in playing him I suppose.
I think he improves our tempo quite a bit and also he provides an option and can take the ball under pressure, something a lot of our other players struggle with.
Van Gaal has said Herrera is back this week. Rooney and Mata have been doing well there but Herrera would add some more balance to the team.
I love the guy, but I don't see how he can get in the team at this time, if we still keep playing 3-5-2. Our midfielders are playing really good.
Two draws in the past three matches, and the return of Shaw and Rafael suggest things might change soon. As others have pointed out Herrera increases our tempo and is always a welcome addition to our midfield.
This is becoming a typical caf "let's bash a player before we all eat a humble pie when he proves us wrong" thread. Give the guy time ffs!
dont think he will start. Rarely do players start under van Gaal coming back from an injury. I like him, think he adds a lot to the team, especially with his movement and quick passing. In fact, the more i think about it the more i cant wait to see him again.
At least it's not as comical as RAWK's "All our players are world class (or potentially world class) until we eat a humble pie halfway through the season".
Yes because that's the standard we should be aiming at. Also, I never claimed he is world class, just pointing out the fact that it's too early to judge him. Players are going from championship standard to world class within a week.
Is there anywhere in my post that claims that you said Anders is world class?
All my post is to juxtapose the attitudes on CAF and RAWK.
Herrera seems to me to be the kind of footballer who fits much better into a side that's firing on all cylinders rather than grinding out results, which is how we've settled into third place after a pretty wretched start to the season.
I am not concerned.
I am not concerned.
I think most players are better when their team is playing well.
Mata,Herrera and Di maria all playing together played some of our best football this whole season, I know qpr are dogshite, but still this was great football
That's not quite what I'm saying.
A team can play very well when they're grinding out results that are less than pleasing to the eye. The old Chelsea under Jose and United during Ferguson's last days come to mind. Scholes thrived in the high octane United sides of the treble side, the Ruud years and the Ronaldo years, the last of which were typified by a lot of defensive, ugly 1-0 and 2-0 wins, wins made possible by a moment of lone genius from Ronaldo.
We're only getting to know Ander Herrera now so it's hard to be sure, but he looks like a midfielder prefers a high tempo game than a defend and hit on the counter game.
From his Liga days, I'd say he certainly prefers a high tempo game. Patience with the ball in his own half was never really his thing, he wanted it upfield whether that meant taking it himself or looking for someone who would.
However the games he really stood out in compared to Athletic teammates were the really hard fought matches, against the biggest teams. The defend and hit on the counter games in fact. Again though, it was for the same reason, he was happy to take responsibility for taking the ball forward and he'd never stop trying or fighting for it.
If LvG wants him to learn to take a more conservative approach, to feel comfortable with the ball being recirculated from the back it may take time. Hopefully that's all it will take.
I actually think Fellaini's been the bigger loss over the last few games but Hererra could have been a brilliant option off the bench. Our inability to make attacking substitutions really fecked us over against Villa and Spurs.
Rooney, Carrick and Mata have all been very good and Van Gaal will be loving watching his 352 formation finally click so I would be surprised if either of Fellaini and Hererra start our next game.
Rooney, Carrick and Mata have all been very good and Van Gaal will be loving watching his 352 formation finally click so I would be surprised if either of Fellaini and Hererra start our next game.
I don't think they will either, Herrera will get a full game against Yeovil. If we lose or struggle to score or create chances against Stoke, he might have to rethink his lineup. I think Herrera might be on the bench and will come on if necessary. We could have done with him and Fellaini at Spurs, definitely. Herrera is the type of player you need when teams are tiring or are playing with everyone back and you need someone who can up the pace and has the eye for a quick pass. We can be a bit one dimensional when we struggling a bit. That is the same for a lot of teams.
"Finally clicked" has given us 1 goal in the last two games and I do wonder how well Falcao and RvP will get on against Stoke. Our first half at Spurs did look very nice though.
Fellaini or Herrera's a difficult one. Prior to this season I'd say Herrera would always be the first choice. Longer term I still think we'll play better football (and win more games) with Herrera. However right now Fellaini was playing well and doing an important job for us in a team that's still misfiring, so dropping him for Herrera wouldn't seem right.
It's the subs issue that's intriguing me. I don't think I would ever put Ander on to defend a lead or a point, he's someone you bring on to chase a game or a winner. Unfortunately I'd put the same label on Fellaini if he was on the bench. I've no idea who we bring on to hold onto what we've got.
We scored 3 against Newcastle?
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