What a player he is, my favourite right now. How much wages was he on at Bilbao and whats his salary at United ?
21
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 50
- Goals
- 3
- Assists
- 11
- Yellow cards
- 15
- Red cards
- 2
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Sorry Sir, I have to disagree, Herrera is another class. He has this x-factor which fletcher was missing. More threat infront of goal compared to Fletcher, better technique, shot and running. He was wonderful against Barca and Madrid the season before he left for United. I can see you are from Scotland maybe that is why you rate Fletcher higher than him.
You're under rating Fletcher yourself. He had a period here at a level Herrera is only now getting close to.
Herrera is on pace to score more goals, assists, tackles, and interceptions than Fletcher per game. Also Herrera is playing in a less dominant team which makes it harder to score. If Herrera plays well he offers far more than Fletcher ever could, but Fletcher was always very consistent so it would be a tough trade off. I'd still take Herrera.
Fletcher during 07-09 was immense for us he wasn't the same player that left club. He was a huge loss in the CL final against Barca.
The comparison was a prime Fletcher versus Herrera and I said Herrera hadn't got to that level yet.
Herrera is not at prime Fletcher's level but if Herrera continues his progress prime Herrera will be better than prime Fletcher.
The lad covers every blade of grass and is amazing at winning back the ball for us... some of those passes could be vintage Carrick.
I'm annoyed at how stifled he was in his first two seasons.
Would be interesting to see how highlights from his LVG seasons compare.
I'm annoyed at how stifled he was in his first two seasons.
Would be interesting to see how highlights from his LVG seasons compare.
Must be. This is the Herrera thread so I don't want to critique Fletcher here. He was a good big game player and when you have attacking players like Ronaldo he was ideal to balance the midfield.
But Ander Herrera is a far more complete player. This is his third season at the club and he was one of the best players at the club in his first season and is a really key player this season.
If in ten years time people remember Darren Fletcher's on field contribution more fondly than Ander Herrera then Herrera's career at United will have been a let down.
It's quite an interesting comparison between the two share so many similarities. Fletcher is probably my 2nd favourite player behind Scholes; that peak spell of his was incredible. It wasn't just form, he was out passing Carrick imo at the time and was much more of a driving creative and physical force (in the centre) than he was credited with.
Technically Herrera is more gifted and complete but Fletcher was a solid 7.5/10 in everything he did, so in reality in terms of effectiveness he doesn't actually lose out. If anything I would say maybe Fletcher did more (against better opposition and on bigger stages) but it's kind of unfair to compare the situations (Fergie + calibre of team mates to post Fergie + new league/managers etc).
I think it's fair to say, Herrera would do well to match Fletcher's achievements with Utd so I'd stop there tbh.
The one thing I would say and have said in the past is that Herrera needs to (because he can and has the quality) stamp his authority on the game MORE as an attacking force. I want more goals, more passes in the final third, more time outside the box etc. I think he's playing a blinder being the energy in the middle but once we find that balance I hope he can 'relax' a bit with his defensive dutites. At the moment, I think he's carrying a lot of that weight on his shoulders because of Carrick's legs/Pogba's indiscipline and we're still so new in terms of finding that consistentcy and team balance (that can only come with more games together as a unit).
It's why I thought (in my own long shot hope) we could have Schneiderlin behind him but that's not going to happen now..
Good post
I agree that Herrera can be more of an attacking threat (and was in his first season). His forward run and pick out of Mata vs Arsenal should have won the team the game. He set up a goal for Ibra vs West Ham with fantastic skill also.
But I would be surprised if that is his role in the team apart from big games or away matches. For the upcoming home double header I expect the team to go back to a Herrera/Pogba partnership in midfield. Pogba is a defensive liability so to expect Herrera to contribute offensively when playing that role is too much to expect.
I don't expect his 'role' under Mourinho to change but when we have more possession of the ball as we have and we become more dominant (plus less defensively pourous as a team), I expect to see Herrera do more on the pitch in terms of creating chances and being an offensive outlet. Apart from Miki and Zlatan, who are performing on par with what we should expect and in their roles, everyone else is doing fine.
So to be fair, I hope for more productivity from Herrera and Pogba as they are the ones, with the ability and positions on the pitch that will have the biggest impact on the team in the long term.
I don't want those two to be just having great individual performances and being very good on their own, I want those two to be the go-to reasons to why we can dominate and out create oppositions.
Maybe in relation to controlling the game but not offensively in a 4-2-3-1. For most games this season Herrera was the most defensive midfield player. Pogba has more freedom and licence to go forward than a standard central midfield player. If Herrera bombed forward too it would leave a gaping hole in midfield.
Obviously it would be great if he creates chance after chance but with Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Mata, Martial and Ibrahimovic in the same team, Herrera's role in the team will be more defensive than creative.
The fact Herrera can play both the defensive and creative roles shows what a complete player he is.
Man Utd 3:1 Sunderland
Really annoys me that he can't shoot despite always trying to.
His pressing game is fantastic. Was nice to see him subbed off, and to get the recognition from the crowd he did. Puts us on the front foot a lot which you can see affects those around him to do the same.
I like Herrera and he has played better this season. I just continuously find him frustrating, the reason being that whenever he receives the ball in a bit of space with his back to goal he always plays it back the way he has received it. It's like he hasn't got the intelligence to realise the space he is in and turn and attack the space, something which Micky is great at. It really stifles our attacking threat and limits him from being a top player. Ander learn to look over your shoulder before you receive the ball!
Some nice footwork when pressed today and a solid all round performance.
Xavi and iniesta were playing week in week out in Barcelona's prime team, don't mind Jose not rotating Herrera and Pogba, why should he? when the 2 of them are Jose's number 1 choice. Jose will rotate them in the cup games, but PL games and europe they will start every game. The problem when we have a settled midfield of this quality, beyond them is going to be weak because they are that good. Look at the best teams, the starting players will always be a few levels ahead of the fellaini's of this world.
Ander Unchained.
Agreed. His shooting seems to have gotten worse while the rest of his game has gotten better.
Has he ever scored from outside the box at united?
Yeah a few times actually, once this season.
Ah thanks. He miscues his long shots so much that made me think he never scored from outside the box before
No worries, his shooting does seem to have deteriorated since his first season but he's definitely got it in his locker.Ah thanks. He miscues his long shots so much that made me think he never scored from outside the box before
Here's hoping for a screamer against Boro!
mhki taryan plays wide attacker, not deep infield. I also find him little too cautious at times but when you have so many creative palyers around it's not a problem for me, he keeps the ball moving so much quicker than anyone before, in more advanced positions he seems more adventurous, unlucky to hit one home, he's capable of that, just doesnt seem lucky enough to produce a nice long drive, it's always either blocekd or miscued but he makes the team ticking even when he doesnt at his personal best, still makes a lot of running and defending for Pogba and Carrick so I am okay as far as we perform as a team..
he's just becoming one of those 7/10 performers we need in the team, consistent players, but he's capable of 8/9 out of 10 when we need it, there are alread yplayers who tried quite a lot in the game like Zlatan or Pogab, so it could become quite a chaos if ander also tried as much as them from midfield
Agreed completely. And it's really evident when he has Pogba next to him who'll look for a forward pass or run with the ball whenever possible, while Ander passes backwards or to Valencia in 90%. Even with that I doubt their passing % is that different.
But it's not really fair to compare them. Pogba is one of the best midfielders in the world, while Herrera does a lot of dirty work that Pogba doesn't. I do think we'll need an upgrade on Herrera though if we're to progress to the next level.
Most of his goals were outside the box for United. His long range shooting is as incosistent as his long range passing though.
I think you will be hard pressed to find a midfield player who performs that two way role to the standard he does it, who is not already settled at a big club, let alone a pure upgrade on him. What you will find is maybe a better defender or a better attacker but one as complete as him? Difficult to say, its also easy to forget that he is emerging from a tough couple of seasons spent under a manager that tried to completely change how he plays and erase the things that make him a very good player - no doubt his self belief would have been shot.
For all the Ibra goals and Pogba and Miki skills, he's our most important player at the moment. We'd cope much better without Carrick or Pogba than we would without Ander. I hope Jose finds a game to rest him at some point soon; he puts in a ridiculous shift every game and if he burns out before the end of the season we'll regret it, there's no-one in the squad who can fill his role.
There's nothing wrong with his shooting, it's deciding when to shoot and when to try something else.
Most players will slice those ridiculous volleys that come from corners, it wouldn't surprise me if Mourinho is telling his midfielders to just get rid of the ball in that situation through an optimistic shot to avoid the counter, because a lot of his terrible efforts recently have been in that scenario.
Most players will slice those ridiculous volleys that come from corners, it wouldn't surprise me if Mourinho is telling his midfielders to just get rid of the ball in that situation through an optimistic shot to avoid the counter, because a lot of his terrible efforts recently have been in that scenario.
The last week and after this game, we have quite long resting time comparing to regular 2 games per week schedule we usually have to go through.
Agree Ander's importance is on par with other big names in our team.
I agree our standard and critique is harsher on him because what we know he can do but the below post sums up the things I think can do better:
Yep agree but like someone said, he turns it on against the top sides so maybe he's deliberately toning it down..who knows.
He's playing within himself so hopefully we can find the right set up and consistency to see him playing those delightful one-twos, turns and through balls because it would be immense. I think Miki coming back into the side can only help massively to players like him.
So glad that everyone now appreciates Ander's qualities, such a special player, and he hasn't peaked yet 
Carrick is great, but I believe we wont realize Ander's full attacking potential until a replacement for the former who is quicker, allowing Ander to take more risks.
Carrick is great, but I believe we wont realize Ander's full attacking potential until a replacement for the former who is quicker, allowing Ander to take more risks.
Didn´t have a good game at all in my opinion. Compared to the last few games he didn´t seem to win possession for us in midfield at all (tackles or interceptions). Going forward he didn´t add that much either. He had 1 or 2 decent crosses, but apart from that most of the time he just passed it to Valencia, who then had to do all the hard work.
But to be honest he didn´t have to do much with Pogba having an outstanding perfomance beside him, who was our main ball-winner and also did all the work going forward.
But to be honest he didn´t have to do much with Pogba having an outstanding perfomance beside him, who was our main ball-winner and also did all the work going forward.
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