Loved that spell at the end where he was pressing their defenders from the front. Against Burnley at the end he tracked their player to our LB position to win a goalkick at 3-1. And still people say he doesn't look interested.
7
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 32
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 13
- Yellow cards
- 3
- Red cards
- 1
- Status
For the player he is, he had horrible end-product tonight. Kind of been the story of the season for him, just inconsistent end-product.
Thought he did quite well in the second half? Did quite well all around really, was comfortably our best player on the night. Only one making things happen in the first half and kept being a threat in the second when the rest of the team picked up. Looks very good on the right cutting in. Shame that one pass from Rooney was slightly overhit and the keeper came out in time.
One or two lovely crosses but overall sloppy and poor.
There are flashes of brilliance from him but it's just not enough. Has to improve.
There are flashes of brilliance from him but it's just not enough. Has to improve.
When you give Di Maria room to run at people he's a menace. The balance of the side wasn't good enough to get the best out of him first half, cutting in off the right in the second half though he looked a constant threat. If Van Gaal can set us up to play in a way that emphasises Di Maria's strengths we'll have a super player on our hands.
Hasn't that been the story of his career though? I suspect we're going to have to get used to a lot of wastefulness. By all accounts that's just the way he is.
He appears to be the only player van Gaal dictates complete creative freedom to on the pitch.
Can anyone who watched him at Madrid tell me if he scored a lot of long range goals at Madrid and Benfica? He tries them all the time here and he's fecking shocking at them. It's like being the most expensive player has convinced him he needs to do all of these things.
Remember the beginning of the season when he shanked a couple across the box which we scored from and people were arguing they were brilliant crosses?
It's probably pent up demand from all the times in Madrid where he wanted Ronaldo take pops at goal from pretty much anywhere in the opposition half
Why has he started to sit so deep? He's best when he's running with the ball and he's not doing enough of it at the moment.
I think Van Gaal wants him to be more of a goalscorer here. Though he is really good at opening up space for himself to get off a shot and he does get good power behind the shot. Just the direction tends to be off. Thought his shot selection has been a lot better the last couple of games though.
From memory though, he did score a few really good long range goals, clearly capable of it, just inconsistent in his shooting.
He's the playmaker.
Didn't really have many chances to shoot far away for Madrid. He did try though, often with his right foot. It's not surprising to see that he's shooting more now as he has the opportunity with his left. He's no Ronaldo though. You've gotta have goals on your record to justify these many attempts.
He made some super-passes and yes he fails some but that is what you get with having a player trying to make things happen.
I liked the part how he pressed high to win the ball up the pitch when it was already 3:0 This guy has got energy but need to use it more. Him Herrera and Blind covering is a great midfield trio but little bit more of enthusiasm would be great. That's why I'm glad Herrera's back in the side hopefully..
technically he's great to watch but sometimes too many mishit passes. But he will get better hopefully
technically he's great to watch but sometimes too many mishit passes. But he will get better hopefully
9 assists and 4 goals in 21 games looks alright to me actually, for someone who has had his ups and downs this season.
He threaded a number of excellent through balls tonight don't forget. With a more lethal striker up front tonight he would have bagged a couple of nice assists with no problem. He was far and away our most threatening player on the night. Some people focus so much on the wayward efforts/failed ambitious passes and forget the good things. Yet complain when we play super safe and slow.
He's been a brilliant signing. Has the odd brainfart here and there but overall he's a constant menace to defenders and never stops trying to create. We should just let him do his thing and build the rest of the team around him.
I wish we would play him in his natural position in the center of attack although hes really our only main option as a winger
He seems a bit selfish at times and you can see that it hasnt clicked with his team mates yet. Still a great signing and once it starts working, it will be great
Much more than my recollection of him at Real, I guess he really feels like the big man in the team. Which is a bit of a shame, because he's at his most lethal when he's linking up with others and he's better at providing a final ball than scoring himself. His 30 yards shots are a bit boring, he'll probably score one screamer this season, but he's wasted quite a few interesting balls up front.He seems a bit selfish at times and you can see that it hasnt clicked with his team mates yet. Still a great signing and once it starts working, it will be great
Thought he was good last night and we've seen improvement over the past few weeks, so that's great. And as I said in the Rooney thread, I feel they both link up very well so I hope we get to see more of that partnership.
I think I'm going to resign myself to him being a slightly better version of Nani. Will be loads of poor decisions and inexplicably poor moments in every game but will also be a constant threat and always capable of winning the game for us. Not quite what you'd want/expect from the most expensive player in the history of the Premier League but a valuable player to have in our team nonetheless.
That's not his natural position at all unless I understood it wrong.
He was definitely greedy at Madrid, at least in his early years up till last season. He'd often go for shots when a pass is on
Thought he played well, he just needs to get that weight of pass nailed down a bit better. Was unlucky when playing Rooney through on goal as the run and pass was fine, just over hit it. Then again he's used to Ronaldo and Bale running onto them, so it's not a surprise
Last time we insisted on playing Nani through the good and bad form he played much better than di Maria. He was more consistent too during that time.
He was also playing for a much much better team. So you can't really compare.
Tbf Nani played for a manager who encouraged his whole team to take risks, whereas Di Maria is almost the only one trying out something for us. Whenever Herrera tries to take risks he is awarded with bench time for the next 2 months.
And similar to Nani at his best is a great thing anyway, we all know how good Nani was at his best.
The weird thing is, in this side, Nani could be ideal. He doesn't really need to be playing well to be reasonably productive in terms of goals, or more often, assists. I mean, if you're going to watch shit on a stick football, probably better to have someone who tends to get you a dozen or more assists every season.
You didn't really think that through, did you? If taking risks = being benched, why is Di Maria starting every game?
I thought it through Mr smart.
Di Maria is our record signing and thus undroppable (along with Rooney). But what I meant was there's not much coming out of him taking risks if his teammates are adviced to avoid taking risks, he can't do everything on his own. He has still been out best attacking player. If he was playing under Fergie with his team mates supporting him in the attack much more, he would have much more assists and chances created for us than he already has.
I like him down the right when he found himself in those areas. Lacked a bit of end product but looked dangerous at times.
I've tried pointing this out a few times while explaining why I think Herrera is overlooked by Van Gaal.
1 risk taking creative midfielder = ok.
2 risk taking midfielders = a liability.
To add to that..
1 risk taking creative, attacking midfielder = ok but needs a player who counter balances his risk taking.
2 risk taking midfielders = added risk and still no balance for the other creative midfielder.
I think the Giggs comparison is probably better - Nani slowed down the play everytime he got the ball, took far too many touches. Di Maria always goes for the kill everytime he gets the ball - more similar to Giggs IMO. Leads to some frustrating moments but some moments of brilliance too. I don't mind that at the moment, this team could do with the excitement.
None of that explains why Van Gaal has repeatedly played Di Maria and Mata, or Di Maria and Januzaj in the same team. In fact, he's played one of those two pairings in almost every game we've played this season.
Yes. Agree with that. Di Maria is much more progressive than Nani, which makes him much less frustrating (even though his final ball seems similarly hit and miss)
It's a different scenario, I know, I just know that Nani was never afforded this much freedom by his manager and yet when he was afforded just bit freedom he was as good as di Maria at his best.
Not sure he was as good as Di Maria at his best (last seasons Di Maria) but he was definately bloody good. Best winger in the EPL he was no doubt.
Finally, someone who agrees with me.
Di Maria is the only one taking shots, the only one trying through balls and the only one dribbling, in the whole team! He is our lone creative spark.Only Cesc I think has more assists than him in the league, and Cesc takes every free-kick and corner for Chelsea.
We simply need him in the team, because everyone else bar maybe Herrera, are too busy playing it safe. Rooney had a very good shot on him but how often do we ever get to see it nowadays? When was the last time RVP had a shot from outside the box?
- Status