I will say his first touch technique on certain occasions looks a bit like Bambi on ice. Still love him, though.
21
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 31
- Goals
- 8
- Assists
- 5
- Yellow cards
- 6
- Status
I have watched the replay of the first goal time and time again; THAT PASS left me totally speechless.
Didn't realise we were playing Lindegaard in midfield.
Just got a message that your medal for PFA typo-catcher of 2014/15 is in the mail.
Topn notch banter.
I thought he was absolutely fantastic. First half displays was one of the best CM performances I've seen in the PL this season. He's such an interesting bundle of characteristics. An excellent tackler, who is also elegant and technical in possession. Kind of like Oscar, I guess, without the cheating and arseholery. I felt the Arsenal performance was being talked up a bit but he deserves all the praise he gets after yesterday. Quality.
Much stronger too.
Has that court case gone away yet? Certainly seems to have rediscovered his form from the 1st 3rd for the season, perhaps that was playing on his mind.
Long may it continue
Far better passing range, too. I see the comparison, though.
He's excellent. He's got it all, and all things considered he's having a pretty good first year in English football. Absolutely love him. Now he and Juan can get their magic working on keeping De Gea at the club.
Agreed. I also loved the way after Gerrard crunched into Mata, Ander thinks 'nah, not having that' and goes crashing into Gerrard himself. We need a bit of that in midfield. He's good technically but he's got that edge to his game, he's a fighter.
He has a fine balance between Spanish skill and finesse and English grit and determination. Such a class player.
Herrera and Mata are both on the same wave length. If we can get another attacker in sync with them it'd take some stopping.
This
And this.
Awesome player. There was another lad from Bilbao, Itturaspe, how has he been doing in La Liga?
I think he has been injured. Noticed he has been on the bench recently for Bilbao, so just coming back and they are hitting a bit of form, so might just be eased along back into the team as no rush.
Considering it's his first season in a new League he's been fantastic. His characteristics compliment Carrick so well; his energy, creativity, tackling ability and stamina are all very, very good.
Even his poor games have some mitigation; a lack of game time or being brought back too quickly from injury.
Even his poor games have some mitigation; a lack of game time or being brought back too quickly from injury.
It's good to see that we have left all this nonsense about van Gaal being ready to ship him off and about Ander feeling frustrated because he wants to have a more advanced role on the pitch behind us. Each week he looks better and more confident in the role LvG has given him. Most people will focus on his beautiful assist but his overall performance yesterday was magnificent.
There were big parts during yesterday's game in which our passing game was quick, precise and aimed to expose the gaps in Liverpool's midfield and he played a big part in that. He was always making himself available for a pass in our half and that was important cause Liverpool is a team who can press high. He provided an extra option for the CBs to pass the ball out of the defense, he took some pressure off Carrick and formed a very successful triangle with Valencia and Mata on the right wing.
But the most impressive aspect of his game was his defending off the ball. It's clear that he's been working on that at Carrington and it seems like the more he understands the role the more he enjoys his time on the pitch. Don't forget that Rodgers had Coutinho lurking in that area of the pitch and that Henderson was constantly looking for a long shot chance. We offered them very little space to run with the ball and very few chances for a good shot or a key pass and had set double-teams everywhere in our third. Herrera played a big part in nullifying Coutinho's threat yesterday.
I'm sure he'll get even better and that his impact in the first team will increase as the players' roles on the pitch become more and more distinct (same thing goes for Mata).
There were big parts during yesterday's game in which our passing game was quick, precise and aimed to expose the gaps in Liverpool's midfield and he played a big part in that. He was always making himself available for a pass in our half and that was important cause Liverpool is a team who can press high. He provided an extra option for the CBs to pass the ball out of the defense, he took some pressure off Carrick and formed a very successful triangle with Valencia and Mata on the right wing.
But the most impressive aspect of his game was his defending off the ball. It's clear that he's been working on that at Carrington and it seems like the more he understands the role the more he enjoys his time on the pitch. Don't forget that Rodgers had Coutinho lurking in that area of the pitch and that Henderson was constantly looking for a long shot chance. We offered them very little space to run with the ball and very few chances for a good shot or a key pass and had set double-teams everywhere in our third. Herrera played a big part in nullifying Coutinho's threat yesterday.
I'm sure he'll get even better and that his impact in the first team will increase as the players' roles on the pitch become more and more distinct (same thing goes for Mata).
Would love it if he can establish himself as one of the prem's best midfielders next season .
Yeah i get that too. He is often the first one to come off in the second half, should he start. That was the case yesterday too when Carrick was the one making mistakes in the second half which also led to Sturridge's goal.
The best thing about his performance yesterday, when he wanted to give one back to Gerrard because his mate had one put on him.
That was his best performance so far. He was great against Hull and probably had more influence on the game that time, that wasn't at Anfield though! Not gonna get too carried yet, we know all too well what a couple of injuries and loss of form can do to a player. Him, Fellaini and Carrick looks really balanced, hopefully we stick with this until the end of the season if possible. Di Maria can play on the wing until then
http://deportes.elpais.com/deportes/2015/03/22/actualidad/1427045616_015938.html
Really interesting interview there. It is in Spanish, but I'm sure Google Translate will give a good enough gist of it.
Really interesting interview there. It is in Spanish, but I'm sure Google Translate will give a good enough gist of it.
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Interesting from that interview is his comments about van Gaal having a go at him a few times early in the season for going looking for the ball too much. Explains why he wasn't in the team as much as most fans wanted him to be at the time. Clearly van Gaal insists that his players follow his instructions to the letter and we as fans probably got a bit carried away with Herrera's dynamism given our lack of that type of midfielder for years and were more than ready to forgive him losing possession occasionally as a result. LVG has now found a way to get both Herrera and Fellaini into the team that gives us different options to get the ball forward, either direct to Fellaini or via Herrera, Mata and Carrick. Having both options is giving our opponents problems at the minute and leaving the spaces for either Fellaini or Mata to get into positions they can be most effective.
Really refreshing to see us having a truly dominant midfield again, and he's been a big part of that. The last 5-6 years we have really struggled whenever we were put under big pressure on the ball, but what a difference it makes having someone like Herrera and Mata in there who can handle it no problem and instantly kill that pressure. Doesn't get fazed at all when people close him down because of his brilliant and consistent first touch and quickly moves the ball on to just leave the opposition out of position. Where before we'd have players sit too long on it, and so as a whole we were susceptible to being put under pressure, yesterday showed more then anything how big of an impact having technically brilliant midfielders can have.
Liverpool tried pressing us from the start, but realized shortly into the game that they were just being moved out of position and weren't getting anything out of it because how quick thinking Herrera and Mata are and how good they are on the ball.
Interesting interview though, seems to be very honest but also has a great attitude as well. You can definitely see the difference in his positioning and as he said how he used to always chase after the ball to get it back and so dragging the others around, while now he picks his moments a lot better and has really improved his defensive game (even after it was pretty good earlier on anyways).
Probably our signing of the season, certainly my favourite one. On this kind of form probably the best midfielder in the league as well, considering the only two who I would consider more talented/better generally are Fabregas and Toure and they are way off form.
Liverpool tried pressing us from the start, but realized shortly into the game that they were just being moved out of position and weren't getting anything out of it because how quick thinking Herrera and Mata are and how good they are on the ball.
Interesting interview though, seems to be very honest but also has a great attitude as well. You can definitely see the difference in his positioning and as he said how he used to always chase after the ball to get it back and so dragging the others around, while now he picks his moments a lot better and has really improved his defensive game (even after it was pretty good earlier on anyways).
Probably our signing of the season, certainly my favourite one. On this kind of form probably the best midfielder in the league as well, considering the only two who I would consider more talented/better generally are Fabregas and Toure and they are way off form.
He is pure class. We just seem to play proper football when he's on song. The link he has with Mata will be one I can't wait to enjoy over the coming years.
Also to add onto my previous point... Whenever somebody says that Henderson is better then Herrera, laugh and show them this (works with Ramsey as well):
He's better in every way.
He's better in every way.
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I think he's fecking fantastic and I reckon he's got a few big goals in him as well.
Imagine him in a few years..
Imagine him in a few years..
On the one hand I'm gutted we had to wait a year to sign him as he is exactly what we've been crying out for during the Passenger Era. On the other he avoided catching the Moyes virus that the rest are finally starting to shake off.
I honestly believe that if all goes well, Herrera will be one of the finest midfielders in the PL for years to come.
If you think about it he's got literally every attribute in his game - fantastic passer, fantastic CLEAN tackler, scores goals, intelligence - and he's being managed by Van Gaal...
I also love how much of a student of the game he is. His interviews are so refreshing and insightful.
God, watching that back it just dawns on me what a great, great game it was.
To beat them at their own game with such craft and such confidence. A sweet day.
Along with his Spanish amigos, my favourite United player at the moment. So glad to see some of his former critics praising him now.
Mark my words that boy will lift the European cup in a Manchester United shirt. Possibly as captain.
no pressure.
Easy there. I'm very hopeful we'll win the champions league within the next 5 years but he's not gonna be captain at United, that's something that will always go to the homegrown/british players I think. Rooney for the foreseeable future, after him who knows. Though if there's one foreign player in with a real shot of getting it, if he's still here when Rooney is done, it would be De Gea for sure.
That was some stubborn virus, once it was there it started to spread at a devastating rate even months into LvG's season. As you say only now / recently it has been defeated. Imagine Moyes had stayed longer, it would have taken us almost a decade to heal afterwards!
He cost a lot but he's starting to show that he might have been worth it and perhaps he would have made a big difference to last season if Moyes had him available.
Pledging yourself to the club without being pressured to do so, and without answering in cryptic, open ended soundbites.
So easy to do, yet so rare. Nice from Herrera.
- Status