Ander Herrera image 21

Ander Herrera Spain flag

2016-17 Performances

View full 2016-17 profile

6.4 Season Average Rating
Appearances
50
Goals
3
Assists
11
Yellow cards
15
Red cards
2
Status
Not open for further replies.
Lawman said:
Fletcher was a much better player than what I have seen from Herrera so far.
Given the choice of either i would be surprised if many in here would take this seasons Herrera over a prime Fletcher. It's not even close for me!
Click to expand...

Emdad Ahmed said:
"Much better player" is an overstatement. But, prime Fletch was at least as good as if not already better than Ander. However, his progress was ruined by injuries and illness.

The current Fletcher is okay. But not the monster that he was or the current Herrera
Click to expand...

I'm not sure who this "prime Darren Fletcher" monstering the midfield was but it's not the Darren Fletcher I remember playing for United. He was a really good squad player who did an excellent defensive role and was a great servant to the club. But he is being seriously overrated here.

He was better defensively and a better athlete than Herrera but when it comes to technique, creativity, game intelligence, link play and ability to see a killer pass Herrera is several levels above.

Another really good performance from Herrera at West Brom. The consistency of his level of performance is fantastic. Even on an off day he's a key player.
 
Runner said:
If Herrera didn't play for us I would hate him. He's a very dirty player, who makes sly challenges, complains constantly to the ref and exaggerates fouls he receives from other players to get them booked. Come to think of it I don't like him at all. Being objective however, he's doing a good job in the midfield for us and I appreciate that he's playing with more passion than some others in the team. It's a mix bag for me, I just wish he had a bit more class.
Click to expand...

We've been way too nice over the years. Nice guys come last. I'm all for us being cnuts with Ander, Ibra, Rojo. I like how we're starting to become bullies on the pitch.
 
We've been too nice (weak) for the past few years. Culminating in that abysmal mentally fragile capitulation against West Ham away last season. We need more cnuts, bad losers, and complainers. Players who take the idea of defeat as a personal insult.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Invictus
Love Ander

Hate all this nonsense about him having eclipsed Fletch.

Darren Fletcher's decline due to chronic illness seems to have erased a lot of people's memories. He was a great midfielder (PFA team of the year 2009-10) who won everything with United. He earned his place on the team sheet during some of our most successful seasons.

He was a tenacious opponent with a great engine and a fantastic range of passing.

By all means compare Ander with him, as I think there are a lot of similarities and I hope that Herrera goes on to be as successful for United as Fletch was. Just please don't underrate Darren Fletcher, a great player and someone who deserves to be remembered alongside the best names of Fergie's last great Champions League winning team.
 
I used to think he was a bit average and not up to the standard required, I'm very glad to have been proven wrong. He's been fantastic.
 
Janson said:
That isn't necessarily a good thing in the long run. I wonder if he can keep it up all season.
Click to expand...

I agree. He presses the goalkeeper almost every time. You kind of like to see it as a fan, but it's a bit of a waste of energy. Especially when you are a central midfielder. If he can keep it up, then I'll be impressed. He was allegedly shattered at the end of the Palace game which forced Zlatan deeper, so the chances are her can't keep it up.

I'd rather forwards closed down the keeper than central midfielders as they don't have as much of an adjustment to make with their position. It's a longer way back for Ander.

I do like to see him leading by example though. It's a bit of a catch 22.
 
POF said:
I'm not sure who this "prime Darren Fletcher" monstering the midfield was but it's not the Darren Fletcher I remember playing for United. He was a really good squad player who did an excellent defensive role and was a great servant to the club. But he is being seriously overrated here.

He was better defensively and a better athlete than Herrera but when it comes to technique, creativity, game intelligence, link play and ability to see a killer pass Herrera is several levels above.

Another really good performance from Herrera at West Brom. The consistency of his level of performance is fantastic. Even on an off day he's a key player.
Click to expand...

Well, that's your issue. For a period of eighteen months Fletcher was phenomenal, turning up to more or less every big stadium in Europe and coming out on top in the midfield. I'm a big fan of Herrera and comparisons with Fletcher are no slight on him. Fletcher was one of the best-performing midfielders around at the time.
 
OnlyTwoDaSilvas said:
I agree. He presses the goalkeeper almost every time. You kind of like to see it as a fan, but it's a bit of a waste of energy. Especially when you are a central midfielder. If he can keep it up, then I'll be impressed. He was allegedly shattered at the end of the Palace game which forced Zlatan deeper, so the chances are her can't keep it up.

I'd rather forwards closed down the keeper than central midfielders as they don't have as much of an adjustment to make with their position. It's a longer way back for Ander.

I do like to see him leading by example though. It's a bit of a catch 22.
Click to expand...
He should try and conserve some energy at times but we don't know, maybe it's Mourinhos instructions to play like this. We should at least rotate him a bit, rest him in less important games.
 
Janson said:
He should try and conserve some energy at times but we don't know, maybe it's Mourinhos instructions to play like this. We should at least rotate him a bit, rest him in less important games.
Click to expand...

He definitely needs a rest, I would have thought. You'd think successive home games against Sunderland and Boro will bring a bit of rotation over the two games. I expect him, Zlatan and Pogba to sit at least one of them out.
 
OnlyTwoDaSilvas said:
He definitely needs a rest, I would have thought. You'd think successive home games against Sunderland and Boro will bring a bit of rotation over the two games. I expect him, Zlatan and Pogba to sit at least one of them out.
Click to expand...
I don't think that's likely to happen, especially in Zlatan and Pogbas case. Mourinho wants his strongest team in important games. It's more likely they get rest in the cups.
 
Hammerfell said:
I used to think he was a bit average and not up to the standard required, I'm very glad to have been proven wrong. He's been fantastic.
Click to expand...
Same here. Turns out LvG had neutered him. Imagine having a player who's so good in perpetual motion and telling him to stay still and not chase the ball? Playing under a manager who suits his game has turned him into one of the best midfielders in the league.
 
Janson said:
I don't think that's likely to happen, especially in Zlatan and Pogbas case. Mourinho wants his strongest team in important games. It's more likely they get rest in the cups.
Click to expand...

You might be right. Mourinho doesn't really do rotation does he. Especially when he's got a winning formula, and we're hitting a bit of a stride now.

I'd actually not looked at the Christmas fixture list properly until now. I didn't realise it's not as congested as normal. I'm sure there is normally a game between Boxing Day and New Year, but not this time, so there's probably no major reason to rest anyone.
 
OnlyTwoDaSilvas said:
You might be right. Mourinho doesn't really do rotation does he. Especially when he's got a winning formula, and we're hitting a bit of a stride now.

I'd actually not looked at the Christmas fixture list properly until now. I didn't realise it's not as congested as normal. I'm sure there is normally a game between Boxing Day and New Year, but not this time, so there's probably no major reason to rest anyone.
Click to expand...
Yeah you're right. I only hope Herrera can keep it up for the whole season.
 
Kag said:
Well, that's your issue. For a period of eighteen months Fletcher was phenomenal, turning up to more or less every big stadium in Europe and coming out on top in the midfield. I'm a big fan of Herrera and comparisons with Fletcher are no slight on him. Fletcher was one of the best-performing midfielders around at the time.
Click to expand...

From about 06 until the illness he was a big game player (like Park) who you could trust to come into the team, work his bollocks off, and not let the opposition settle. But by 2009 he'd also added enough to be able to create against the small teams too, and became even more dominant in winning the ball. I genuinely felt we would have won that 09 CL final if he was on the pitch, can't believe that ref sent him off for one of the best tackles you'll ever see. Such a shame we never got to see the level he could have achieved.

A very odd player in that you don't often see midfielders who don't look particularly classy on the ball achieve such a level, but nonetheless a terrific player.
 
Best player this season, when he got subbed yesterday you could see Mou and his staff really love the fecker. . He should be made captain without a doubt.. Team player, workhorse, magician..

PS Fetch was fantastic too..
 
OnlyTwoDaSilvas said:
He definitely needs a rest, I would have thought. You'd think successive home games against Sunderland and Boro will bring a bit of rotation over the two games. I expect him, Zlatan and Pogba to sit at least one of them out.
Click to expand...
Are you guys serious when you write things like this?
 
Cutch said:
Definitely not a better passer than Fletcher who was always extremely tidy whereas Herrera can be a bit sloppy
Click to expand...
Herrera's pass completion rate is more than Fletcher's in the last 3 seasons. It's a stupid comparison, but I don't have peak Fletcher stats from his time with us.
 
Santoryo said:
Are you guys serious when you write things like this?
Click to expand...

Do you not think they are due a rest? Herrera was supposedly so knackered that Zlatan had to drop in to midfield. Zlatan himself has stated that he is not used to playing this many games and not having a winter break. Mourinho also said in November that he intends to rotate more when the games start to come in thick and fast.

I don't think rotation is completely out of the question. They are playing every game, and certainly Herrera is playing with great intensity, covering more ground than anyone on the pitch. He absolutely cannot keep that up every game for the rest of the season. Even Zlatan presses more than I expected him to, and he' 35. Can he keep that up?
 
OnlyTwoDaSilvas said:
He definitely needs a rest, I would have thought. You'd think successive home games against Sunderland and Boro will bring a bit of rotation over the two games. I expect him, Zlatan and Pogba to sit at least one of them out.
Click to expand...

6 days to the next game is as much recovery as any player should need at this stage of the season.
 
Janson said:
That isn't necessarily a good thing in the long run. I wonder if he can keep it up all season.
Click to expand...
We've got a 9 game break. He's more than capable of performing to this level all season.
 
Cutch said:
In 11/12 Fletchers pass completion was 90% and 12/13 was 88%. At his peak at United he rarely wasted a pass and his range was notably better than Herreras
Click to expand...
And yet, we were a miserably uncreative team and had to rely on the wingers for the creative duties.

And not to forget, Fletch played 8 PL games in 11/12 and 3 in 12/13. (10 each if you want to count all competitions). Not sure if that's a good measure.
 
My biggest worry is that United have missed a trick by not hiring some of the trained sports science people on here.

I'm pretty sure United know when a player needs a rest and gives them one.
 
coolredwine said:
And yet, we were a miserably uncreative team and had to rely on the wingers for the creative duties.

And not to forget, Fletch played 8 PL games in 11/12 and 3 in 12/13. (10 each if you want to count all competitions). Not sure if that's a good measure.
Click to expand...

That's generally what happens when you play with a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 system.

Leicester last season relied largely on the creativity of Mahrez. Albrighton chipped in from the left flank as well.

Giggs and Beckham were our main creative outlets for years.

Atletićo Madrid relied on Turan and Koke for creativity during their title winning season. Carrasco has replaced Turan since leaving.
 
WhoDaGOAT said:
That's generally what happens when you play with a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 system.

Leicester last season relied largely on the creativity of Mahrez. Albrighton chipped in from the left flank as well.

Giggs and Beckham were our main creative outlets for years.

Atletićo Madrid relied on Turan and Koke for creativity during their title winning season. Carrasco has replaced Turan since leaving.
Click to expand...
Was Scholes uncreative then?
 
coolredwine said:
Was Scholes uncreative then?
Click to expand...

Compared to our wingers, yes. Everyone seems to think that Scholes was playing exclusively as a playmaker, while the reality is that he he moved deeper later on in his career. He was practically a second striker for a number of years. His goalscoring and movement were his biggest assets for a number of years.
 
WhoDaGOAT said:
Compared to our wingers, yes. Everyone seems to think that Scholes was playing exclusively as a playmaker, while the reality is that he he moved deeper later on in his career. He was practically a second striker for a number of years. His goalscoring and movement were his biggest assets for a number of years.
Click to expand...
He was a second striker during the initial years. And even when he was shifted deeper (CM or CDM or DLP, whatever). He still had that element of creativity, similarly to Ander Herrera (he can play CAM/AM, and also CM). Just like how Scholes needed a defensive partner, so does Ander. Nothing takes out that creativity even after changing positions. And that was something Fletch lacked, as I mentioned above. Fletch-Carrick partnership was dire to watch.
 
Janson said:
That isn't necessarily a good thing in the long run. I wonder if he can keep it up all season.
Click to expand...

Remember the year Bilbao played us off the park under Bielsa?

I'm pretty sure he's used to getting fit enough to do high intensity all season.
 
Lawman said:
Yeah he did, Herrera can be erratic on the ball.
Click to expand...

So could Fletcher, but Ander had more vision whilst having good accuracy, better one touch play and makes more passes. Ander is also 3rd most on the amount of accurate long passes as well.
 
Redguern said:
Love Ander

Hate all this nonsense about him having eclipsed Fletch.

Darren Fletcher's decline due to chronic illness seems to have erased a lot of people's memories. He was a great midfielder (PFA team of the year 2009-10) who won everything with United. He earned his place on the team sheet during some of our most successful seasons.

He was a tenacious opponent with a great engine and a fantastic range of passing.

By all means compare Ander with him, as I think there are a lot of similarities and I hope that Herrera goes on to be as successful for United as Fletch was. Just please don't underrate Darren Fletcher, a great player and someone who deserves to be remembered alongside the best names of Fergie's last great Champions League winning team.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but he doesn't. Hargreaves, Scholes and Carrick were all ahead of him and better players at their best IMO. I'd label (atleast?) 10 players before Fletcher as the best names of Fergie's last great Champions League winning team.
 
Bubz27 said:
I'm sorry but he doesn't. Hargreaves, Scholes and Carrick were all ahead of him and better players at their best IMO. I'd label (atleast?) 10 players before Fletcher as the best names of Fergie's last great Champions League winning team.
Click to expand...

Yeah you are right. But he became an instrumental player for us in the next season and his non-availability is considered as an important reason for our poor performance against Barca in the champions league final 2009.
 
http://www.eurosport.co.uk/football...ester-united-fun-again_sto5988304/story.shtml

After one of the best efforts under Van Gaal, a 3-0 win at Everton, Ander Herrera – who had scored a goal and put in a man-of-the-match performance - was taken aside by the manager and given a verbal dressing down.

“What were you doing at the far post to score that goal?” he was asked.

“Well, scoring it,” came the reply.

“But you shouldn’t have been there. I don’t want you anywhere near there. You go where I tell you.”

It was perhaps little wonder that Herrera, baffled and perplexed, proceeded to play like a drain for the rest of the season.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.