He's a lot like Iniesta, actually. Just with more bite in his tackle but less capable of beating a man.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran are here to talk about a frustrating 2 points dropped at Crystal Palace. They then discuss the regeneration of Old Trafford. Finally, Nik is joined by special guest Michael Statham from the Football Oranje podcast - who gives us a more in depth look at our EL opposition FC Twente, and then runs through the (many) Dutch connections currently at United.
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All this talk of who he plays like and who we can compare him too, just let him be Herrera and be his own player.
We'll be calling him Ander next season not Herrera right?
It's in response to a poster who never saw him and asked what type of player he's like to get an idea.
But it's such a common occurrence on here. So many compare players to past players or rival players and when they don't meet the high expectations, they are labelled not as good or a failure.
I understand it's in response but it will creep in.
so far i've seen herrera compared to xavi,iniesta,wilshire, thiago, ramsey and a lite-schweinsteiger in this thread. seems we wont find an apt comparison for him then
It's obvious from the posters so far that we're not comparing Herrera to the quality of said players, rather the style of football that they play. That's a fairly harmless discussion right. These aren't "Anderson is the next Ronaldinho" types of comparisons.
Herrera is a player of similar style to Iniesta
His touch and technique is sublime, his passing long and short is brilliant and will only get better under the tutelage of LVG. The only thing Ramsey is superior to Herrera in is having a bigger goal threat. In my opinion Herrera is a better player than Xabi Alonso but the Spanish coach for some reason always picked Alonso. maybe playing for Real Madrid had something to do with it... Marcelo Bielsa said Herrera has the ability to be the best no.8 in the game and that is a big compliment coming from a coach of the stature of Bielsa.
His touch and technique is sublime, his passing long and short is brilliant and will only get better under the tutelage of LVG. The only thing Ramsey is superior to Herrera in is having a bigger goal threat. In my opinion Herrera is a better player than Xabi Alonso but the Spanish coach for some reason always picked Alonso. maybe playing for Real Madrid had something to do with it... Marcelo Bielsa said Herrera has the ability to be the best no.8 in the game and that is a big compliment coming from a coach of the stature of Bielsa.
Agreed. Spain won all they did and Madrid winning the league, two cups and the cl as well as getting to the cl semis three years in a row was despite xabi Alonso. The fact that Alonso has 113 caps and Herrera at 24 (going 25 next month) has none is a disgrace. Its everybodies fault but his own that xabi Alonso gets picked ahead of him. Javi Martinez and Llorente somehow managed to get caps for spain while playing for bilbao for some reason, maybe playing for athletic bilbao had something to do with it. That, like picking Alonso turned out to be a mistake.
If it isn't 'Ander-son son son' I'm all up for it.
The Iniesta comparisons are not that bad actually. Similar style of play. Plays like a more defensively sound less polished version of Iniesta. Just to be clear though the comparison is purely stylistic. He's not in Iniesta's class.
calm down now Raul 
Maybe he just meant the current Alonso, like Xavi who's both been in a bit of a decline IMO.
I think a lot of people thought del Bosque could have blooded youngsters for this WC, but it's how every cycle goes - must come to an end I guess.
On topic though, yeah, he could have worded it much better. Was a bit disrespectful to Alonso. What a player in his prime
Maybe he just meant the current Alonso, like Xavi who's both been in a bit of a decline IMO.
I think a lot of people thought del Bosque could have blooded youngsters for this WC, but it's how every cycle goes - must come to an end I guess.
On topic though, yeah, he could have worded it much better. Was a bit disrespectful to Alonso. What a player in his prime
This. Also Llorente and Javi Martinez were poor examples to use of players from Athletic Bilbao who got caps for Spain. Llorente is a striker and Spain in the last couple of years haven't had the best quality in that position (hence the decision to play with a false number 9 at Euro 2012). As for Javi Martinez he is only in the squad due to his versatility in playing both DM and CB.
I think it was pretty clear he was referring to the current Alonso and not the one from 2-3 years ago which was one of the best midfielders in the game. Based on their form over the past season there was certainly an argument to be made to not bring Xavi at all and also for Alonso to lose his place in the starting XI. Herrera had a better season than both but the Spain squad for this World Cup was picked on reputation and not form (see inclusion of Casillas, Torres, etc).
That's definitely true, but I guess it's part of every "cycle". Managers will keep faith with their trusted players (even SAF was a tad guilty of it) who's won them everything, until it's time to move on. And WC 2014 was the end of that glorious cycle for most of those senior Spanish players.
Calm down, it's clear he doesn't mean Xabi Alonso in his prime. And as others have said, Llorente is a bad example as Spain has a striker problem, but too many good players in midfield. Martinez is also not the best example as he has been with the senior squad since 2010 but still only got 18 caps, and even then some are not in midfield (yes, because even he can't really get in Spain's midfield).
I'd say Wilshere is the best comparison.
He's less controlling of a game's tempo than Xavi, far more direct, less inclined simply to stroke the ball around until spaces open. Iniesta is a different type of player, far less physical, silkier and has a level of passing that's above Herrera's at the moment. Thiago is also less direct and probably has more tricks and flicks to his game, Thiago's runs are less based on driving forward than Herrera's. Ramsey I think you might be able to make the case for. Although Ramsey is more effective as an advanced attacking midfielder than Herrera is IMO, Herrera is a number 8 (a point he made himself to Andy Mitten) whereas I see Ramsey as a goalscoring 10. Schweinsteiger is more robust than Herrera, Herrera has better technique in terms of close control and passing though, although Schweinsteiger can stamp his way through other midfielders in a way Herrera can't even if he likes a tackle.
Herrera is a classic number 8. Box-to-box midfielder. Good at tackling. Good close control. Good passing. Likes to take the ball forward at feet. Can pick out a pass. He's the type of midfielder that anyone who watched football before the last century ended would recognise instantly because there were a ton of them e.g. Paul Gascoigne, Zvonimir Boban, Clarence Seedorf even our own Paul Scholes (back when he was a partner to Keano, rather than a deep lying pass sprayer). Not saying Herrera is going to be as good as any of those names just that he plays in that style.
Good post
Wouldn't Iniesta be more of a dribbler than Herrera or am I wrong in suggesting this?
Maybe he just meant the current Alonso, like Xavi who's both been in a bit of a decline IMO.
I think a lot of people thought del Bosque could have blooded youngsters for this WC, but it's how every cycle goes - must come to an end I guess.
On topic though, yeah, he could have worded it much better. Was a bit disrespectful to Alonso. What a player in his prime
I didnt mean for the post to be interpreted as an aggressive one, I meant it to be in a sarcastic, "tongue-in-cheek" tone. I should have put an
at the end. When I look back at it he probably didn't mean Alonso in his prime but I got the impression that he did from the "always picked Alonso" so I assumed he meant euro 2012 as well as maybe 2010 too. I never really agree with people saying young players are going to be better than an older player ever was as it is just speculation and bias most of the time, but as both of you said he probably didn't mean that and it was a mistake on my part to interpret his post that way.Completely on the money. The fact is no player seems to have Ander's offensive attributes while also putting in a good amount of tackles. You've got players like Vidal and Ramsey, but they have different attacking skillsets to Ander and are goalthreats that he is not, whilst making a few more tackles too.
Still, joint 15th most tackles in la liga last season... Would have been 17th in the premier league. Oscar is 78th. You have to imagine Mourinho would have liked him
True that, if Herrera's rather broad skill-set develops here, he could end up being one of the best complete midfielders in the league if he isn't already but that remains to be seen.
Fernandinho got that title locked down comfortably. He is like Herrera when he reaches his peak, but Fernandinho is 29 so Herrera will probably be the next in line for that title if he continues to develop. Fernandinho has the same tackling stats as Herrera but with two times more interceptions and even from a defensive CM role Fernandinho scored the same amount of goals as Herrera(5) and got 3 assists, in comparison to Herrera's 5.
Fernandinho also has a much better passing accuracy, same amounts of dribbles per game and just a slightly lower amount of key passes even if Herrera is an AM and Fernandinho a defensive box to box midfielder. Herrera loses the ball two times more than Fernandinho, actually Herrera loses the ball more often than Kagawa who is very heavily criticized for it. He actually has figures nearly identical to Nani, who many consider to be United's worst player in terms of losing the ball or passing it away to nowhere.
Herrera has a similar passing percentage as Nani as well.
I don't think Herrera is anywhere near Fernandinho as the most complete central midfielder as of now, but that is normal as Fernandinho is in his peak and Herrera has 1-2 years left until he even enters his.
Herrera dribbles a lot for a cm. Always running with the ball. Wilshire was my original comparison and still the best one IMO.
Herrera is unusual in this regard. Great close control and touch but doesn't strike the ball that well leading to some wayward passing and shooting. Still think he's exactly the type of energetic well rounded midfielder we've been crying out for. Just not the finished article yet
There is a reason why Herrera loses the ball a lot though: he tries stuff. Herrera is seen as a more English style midfielder by Spaniards because he is willing to take risks with the ball. Herrera won't just keep recycling possession, he'll actively look for direct passes or try and take people on and that means he loses the ball more than many. Don't forget Herrera attempted more through balls than anyone else in La Liga except Fabregas last season (link). Herrera, as I've repeatedly said, is not a metronomic passer who keeps things ticking over and allows your side to control the ball. He will try and force the issue. The good thing is though Herrera's not just another midfielder who will stand there passing it sideways.
No worries Raul, we all know Alonso was a fecking beast in his prime. Anyone who disputes that is crazy!I didnt mean for the post to be interpreted as an aggressive one, I meant it to be in a sarcastic, "tongue-in-cheek" tone. I should have put an
I've been an admirer of Herrera for long now and I do think that he'd have been picked for most nations at this World Cup, barring Spain and possibly Germany. Just because he's not had a look in for Spain, doesn't mean he's not any good. I rate him and his got the potential to become even better. I'm sure you'd agree with that. Let's hope he wins that first cap in the near future
I agree completely. He is probably underrated because he is Spanish as there is so many great Spanish midfielders at the moment and it is hard to stand out among them. If he was another nationality he would probably be at the world cup and be able to show everyone how good he is and then he would be rated higher. Playing for united will increase his chances of getting into the Spanish squad imo.No worries Raul, we all know Alonso was a fecking beast in his prime. Anyone who disputes that is crazy!
I've been an admirer of Herrera for long now and I do think that he'd have been picked for most nations at this World Cup, barring Spain and possibly Germany. Just because he's not had a look in for Spain, doesn't mean he's not any good. I rate him and his got the potential to become even better. I'm sure you'd agree with that. Let's hope he wins that first cap in the near future
I actually think that was a big motivation behind his desire to come to OT. He could have worked for Barca or Madrid, but with the gaping hole in our midfield, he's a sure starter here, something neither of the Spanish giants could guarantee.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but he's quite a physical lad for a Spaniard - likes getting stuck in as much as he likes moving with the ball. So I think he'll do well in the English league. Or let's hope so.
I was referring to Ander being a better fit presently for Spain compared to Xabi Alonso. Could he be a better player than Alonso was in his prime? I don't see why not, he is more mobile than Alonso ever was. Ander has capabilities to beat players with a dribble, he also possesses a brilliant passing range, long and short. The only thing I would say he needs to add to his game is more goals and under LVG I see that happening. Reading some of the comments in this thread I don't think alot of posters understand what a brilliant player we have signed.
He has the stage now to showcase his ability and under a fantastic manager like Van Gaal he will be a big player for us I have no doubt.
He has the stage now to showcase his ability and under a fantastic manager like Van Gaal he will be a big player for us I have no doubt.
Based on some of the games that I have seen last season, youtube videos and some articles written on him, I get a feeling that he is an all-action midfielder. He will give us drive, goal threat and directness. Two things that I feel he will not be able to help us with are:
1. Positioning. He will be making a good number of runs up and down the pitch. So he can't be given the role of a player who stays deep.
2. Controlling possession of the ball.
I guess we will need to buy a defensive midfielder to play alongside him.
Carrick and Anders will also work
1. Positioning. He will be making a good number of runs up and down the pitch. So he can't be given the role of a player who stays deep.
2. Controlling possession of the ball.
I guess we will need to buy a defensive midfielder to play alongside him.
Carrick and Anders will also work
He's a midfielder that is very comfortable in any midfield role. He can play very disciplined and has the ability to control the tempo of a game. It really depends on how LVG will deploy him to be honest.
33 photos. Give the guy some space.
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I wasn't trying to downplay his abilities, I named him the second in line for the title as the most complete midfielder in the Premier League. It was a response to someone saying that Herrera is already possibly the most complete midfielder in the Premier League which I disagree with as Fernandinho mixes the best abilities of Herrera without missing every fifth pass like Herrera and with less loss of possession due to being tackled off the ball or losing control of it.
Fernandinho is one of the worlds best box to box midfielders in my eyes, only better by Vidal and Schweinsteiger/Martinez, though so there is no slight towards Herrera to name him worse than Fernandinho. Should be remembered that Fernandinho also played as an AM in Ukraine and can play DM or CM as well, he is just very complete as a player and in his peak.
I think Herrera has a really high potential which he hasn't yet reached which may very well have him up there as the best box-to-box in the world. He combines that energetic and combative drive with brilliant abilities on the ball. In a team which dominates more than Bilbao he can easily take a step or two and I believe LVG will do what he always does which is create possession keeping and offensive teams.
It's probably naive, but i can't help but think that the club cameback for him decisively because of the way the story ended last summer.
From what Mitten said it seems that the club wanted to make the things right regarding Herrera.
From what Mitten said it seems that the club wanted to make the things right regarding Herrera.
Imagine Herrera and Vidal, it'd be Scholes and Keane Mk. II.
Also, with all the Vidal hype I've quite neglected my excitement for Herrera to get going. He will prove to be a quality signing.
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