7
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 32
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 13
- Yellow cards
- 3
- Red cards
- 1
- Status
LVG saw ADM's best performances in midfield so far - you really wonder why he isnt playing there especially when we had Carrick fit and Herrera finding his feet
I think us getting overrun in midfield had more to do with Carrick not playing, rather than Di Maria being there. Also, the games he had in CM was in that awkward period where we had not yet grasped Van Gaal's system and looked very disjonted
Not saying he has played well, by any means, but it would be silly imo to give up on him. Now he might not deserve it, but i would give him a start at the LW spot, or the LCM spot against Palace. Young could be shifted into LB (a position he has excelled in) or he takes Fellaini's spot. Rooney and RvP has been given starts despite being equally shite this season, and i see no reason why Di Maria should not be given the same chance.
You might argue that he is no good on the wing, and i agree, but he could play the same role as Mata (who is neither a winger) and drift inside and let the LB bring the width. And while his wing play might be sub par, he does have an exceptional good cross on him.
He is incredibly frustrating, but he also has that x-factor to him.
That's the first time I felt absolutely mad at him. I generally have a soft spot for flair players and tend to overlook some of the mistakes they make (mainly because they take risks to make something happen which will not always come off) compared to the ones who graft and are not that talented with the ball at their feet, but against WBA he made three almost identical passes (crosses?) in the space of 2 mins and 2 of them went out for a goal kick while one went over the top of everyone and perhaps for a throw in to WBA. Made me mad esp since he is good enough to get at least one of them spot on and with us chasing the game in the dying seconds he was doing absolutely fck all to help us back into it.
However, I still have hope that he will ultimately come good here. He is far too good not to.
However, I still have hope that he will ultimately come good here. He is far too good not to.
He should start every game from now on. Although he did not get as much game time as others during the last months he was one of the very few players who looked as he could pull something off.
Blaming him and wanting him to leave is ridiculous.
That does not mean that I am 100 % happy with his performances - far from that.
Blaming him and wanting him to leave is ridiculous.
That does not mean that I am 100 % happy with his performances - far from that.
I dispute this. Let's look at his 19 premier league starts, the positions he was used in, and the ratings the forum gave him and the team after those matches.
His first five games were in the left cm role. Against Burnley, QPR and Leicester he was our highest rated player and MOTM in each game. Against West Ham he scored the team average and then against Everton he was our second highest rated player. His average rating over those games was 7.7, the teams was 5.8. We were never really 'overrun' in midfield in any of those games, certainly not every time he played there, and it seems kind of ridiculous for you to claim that and say he 'looked shit' when it goes so far against how people at the time viewed his performances.
In the next four games (West Brom, Chelsea, City, Palace) he played as a winger and his form suffered. He was rated below the team average in all games except West Brom.
Van Gaal then decided we needed his pace upfront and he played six games either as a striker or as a no. 10 (Arsenal, Hull, Southampton, QPR, Leicester, West Ham). His performances continued to disappoint with a personal average of 5.5 while the team scored 6.0.
Then he played two games at left cm again against Burnley and Swansea where he slightly outperformed the team average, 5.8 against 5.2.
And finally two games back as a winger (Sunderland and Newcastle) where he was shocking. Our lowest rated player in both matches with an average of 4.5 against the teams 6.1
Those ratings fairly well mesh with my own view of his season. Left cm, the same position he excelled in for Madrid, is the only one where he has been a success for us. His performances in other positions have ranged from average to pathetic.
So you're basing your opinion on redcafe ratings?
People were maybe still giving him high ratings vs West Ham and Everton despite the fact he wasnt very good in those games.
He looked good but the team did not. We were far too open, got overrun in midfield and didn't look balanced at all. He's a bit useless when we don't have the ball in that position.
Hmm, wonder if that had anything to do with the fact we played Blind, Herrera and Rooney in there too, with Falcao and RVP up front... Anyway, I don't even think we got overrun in those games at all. Look back at the forum during this time and most people would say the same. Revisionist nonsense just to paint a worse picture of Di Maria's season me thinks, since some others are getting it from all corners. He was crap against Everton
oh dear.Obviously he's not lived up to the billing this season, but lets not pretend he wasn't our best player in the first part of the season when the team was a fecking mess.
He wasnt crap but he wasnt praticulary good either. Same goes for West Ham game.
So when he was good with Blind, Herrera, RVP, Rooney and Falcao great.
But when he was bad with them its cause he played with them..
Interesting.
So when he was good with Blind, Herrera, RVP, Rooney and Falcao great.
But when he was bad with them its cause he played with them..
Interesting.
Someone mentioned how we were far too open, yet do you not think that might be down to the line up we had out in those games? He was our best player in those games. Saying we were not balanced and putting it down to Di Maria is pretty ridiculous when you look at our line ups and the "diamond".
Hmm, wonder if that had anything to do with the fact we played Blind, Herrera and Rooney in there too, with Falcao and RVP up front... Anyway, I don't even think we got overrun in those games at all. Look back at the forum during this time and most people would say the same. Revisionist nonsense just to paint a worse picture of Di Maria's season me thinks, since some others are getting it from all corners. He was crap against Everton
Obviously he's not lived up to the billing this season, but lets not pretend he wasn't our best player in the first part of the season when the team was a fecking mess.
I'm not playing down Di Maria's form in those games. I'm just saying we didn't look right as a team back then and that is why we had to change things. It's not entirely down to Di Maria, we just don't have the players to play a diamond. The team looked a mess so we had to change the system. It's up to Di Maria to fit into the new system.
I dont remember him being the best player vs Everton and West Ham. I may be wrong of course.
I dont think we were unbalansed cause of him, just think his dip in form started while he was a CM.
If he can play just one position and one position only I think we have a big problem.
We persisted with unbalanced line ups for ages after these games just to fit in 3 strikers and play one of them out of position. I'd say that had a massive effect on our performances suffering. Can't think of many games it actually looked alright except that Newcastle one at new year.
They are supporting my opinions, not the basis of them.
Like I think Di Maria had a good game against Everton because I watched it and I can remember him scoring, getting an assist, and causing them problems all day. But it's nice that I can also look at the thread for that game and see that lots of people agreed with me and that he was easily our highest rated outfield player.
The problem is, if we sign the player based on a season playing in that position then isn't the smart thing to do to play him in that position instead of moving him around all the time? Why would we sign a striker to play him on the wing? Now di Maria obviously can play on the wing, but he isn't as good there. I'm not convinced he will have a future here if he can't get into the trio in midfield ahead of strikers and target men. It's a complete square peg in round hole situation. It makes me wonder why LVG said yes to this transfer in the first place if he didn't plan to use him in that position.
As I said people were generous to him with ratings cause he started brightly.
I dont remember him being anything special in that game.
Well it seems we bought a player who isnt all that. I mean he's good in only one position it seems and that's not enough imo.
Well of course people will say that now, because they know what's happened since then. Looking at the threadmark after the Everton game most of the caf thought he was a shoe in for player of the year.
On the other hand - match day threads. People write lots of stuff, some of it beyond ridiculous.
I'm not saying that part was ridiculous but as I said I dont remember him being really that good.
And as I said I may be wrong.
I agree we should maybe start him next week just to see how that goes. We need to mix it up a little.
It's quite grim looking back actually. The team/system has changed that much throughout the season, next year it has to be a lot more stable.On the other hand - match day threads. People write lots of stuff, some of it beyond ridiculous.
I'm not saying that part was ridiculous but as I said I dont remember him being really that good.
And as I said I may be wrong.
I agree we should maybe start him next week just to see how that goes. We need to mix it up a little.
Well it seems we have a system and a team now.
I'm not sure why is it so big difference when he plays in CM and as a winger. He runs the ball, attacks the space, take men on and makes passes. Why cant he do it as a winger also.
Personally I don't we were as bad as all that and the problems we did have can be put down to other factors than Di Maria. We had:
1. A bunch of players who were either new to the league or inexperienced youngsters.
2. A team that had spend the whole of pre-season and the early games using 5-3-2 having to suddenly switch to a back four because our manager realised too late he didn't have the squad for the former.
3. No Carrick in any of the games. Key player.
4. No Smalling except for one sub appearance. Our best centre back.
5. The lamentable form of players who should have done better. I thought Van Gaal would rejuvenate RvP, he just carried on playing like he did for Moyes. Evans was our senior centre back going into the season. Do you remember his early performances? They were shocking. Rooney was named our captain but instead of giving us leadership he had a meltdown on the pitch against Leicester and then got himself sent off against West Ham.
No offence intended but when you look at all the problems we had I find it kind of odd that Di Maria's good performances even get mentioned as an issue. Him in left cm was one of the few parts of the team that we should have been happy with imo.
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People have short memories, no point in trying to convince some. He was quite easily our best player for the first month. I remember that Burnley game, where he was the only player that looked like he was a professional footballer, against Burnley! People will use those earlier games to prove that di Maria is shit - "di Maria's only good games came against the bottom placed teams", yet forget that the rest of the team looked like shit against the same opposition. He was our best player against QPR, Leicester and Everton, and only turned, somewhat, shit when moved to wing after the Everton win.
Some on here forget how crap our defense was earlier in the season - Smalling, Jones and Evans were non-existent, McNair and Blackett were our main CB's alongside Rojo, also a new signing. We also had Blind as our DM, not Carrick, playing alongside an inexperienced and naive Ander Herrera. It's no coincidence we conceded so many in the first few games, and it wasn't down to di Maria. Not only was he our most creative, productive and best player, he was also taking up his defensive responsibilities. It's easy to forget how good he was, as we were so unbelievably shit earlier on in the season.
For me, it's quite simple, without some of his contributions, we could (probably would) have found ourselves out of the top 4, at this stage, - his freekick led to the point against Chelsea, he assisted Fellaini's stunner against WBA, he scored and assisted against Everton which we won, he also assisted Rooney's goal against Arsenal, he assisted two important goals against Burnley, he also assisted the winner against Liverpool. But yeah... he's been shit, all season and we shouldn't acknowledge his contribution this season.
In a season, which only De Gea can be proud of, it's quite laughable how much criticism di Maria is receiving and the fact that some of his performances and contributions are being dismissed. Short term memories seem to be quite prevalent, around here.
It seems we have 2 camps. One is criticising him relentlessly, the other thinks its not allowed to criticise him and say he's in a poor form cause its everybody's fault but his.
I really feel that we should be playing him as a CAM with a free role ahead of him. Just let him wonder about doing what he wants, picking the passes as he pleases. He isn't a player that plays well under chains, and while the 4-3-3 has worked OK in the big games, a 4-3-2-1 with Herrera +1 at the base with would give him a stable base to go about doing the creative work.
I'm not in either of those camps. I doubt anyone is.
I'm in the camp that thinks he played great in those early games in that left cm role. Then we moved him around a bunch and his form nosedived. Now he's playing absolute bobbins and barely looks like a pro-footballer.
I'm in the camp that thinks he played great in those early games in that left cm role. Then we moved him around a bunch and his form nosedived. Now he's playing absolute bobbins and barely looks like a pro-footballer.
Haha, reading that was hilarious. Shows how we as a fan base right now are not much more than a bunch of complete knee jerkers.
We know he's a good player but he won't do himself any favors playing like that? That was as bad a performance as any Bebe put in and he was slated. We just need to finish in a good position, get this season over and then do good stuff in the summer.
He's actually in the same boat as Rooney, for me. I see absolutely no point in trying to criticise our Captains performances as he's been thrown around all over the pitch, and even when's he's played further forward, we lack creativity, which has seen him score only 12 goals, this season. di Maria, similarly, has played as a CM, LW, SS, RW, AM and due to this and a few other reasons, he's completely out of form.
With regards to who's fault it is, do you, for one moment, think that di Maria wants to play badly? Do you think he stepped out against WBA and thought "I'm going to ensure we lose this match"? He put in a fine ball to McNair, who should have scored (debate for another day), which is enough to show me that guy is trying is hardest to prove himself, but it isn't working out for one reason or another. His confidence is gone and won't return till he starts consistently.
It's the managers job to ensure he gets the best out of his players, and with regards to di Maria, he hasn't and LvG is responsible for that. Of course, that's not to say di Maria didn't help himself against Arsenal, for example, with the sending off, but who fecking cares about that - he made a mistake, we all do, I don't care about that, and neither should anyone else.
With Rooney is even worse. What is excused for ADM its not for Rooney.
With both of them there's talk about selling them and so on..
I dont think it's his fault and that he just decided to be in poor form. And I agree its lot of circumstances.
As I said I think he should start next game or if not next certainly against Arsenal to prove himself.
LVG found a winning formula but now that formula isnt working for 3 games and ADM starting should be a mix he should really try although ADM is out of form.
Like I said, short term memories. Put an in form di Maria into our team and he'd create game in game out for Rooney. Bar the two chances against Chelsea, I don't remember many other scoring opportunities for Rooney in the past few games. Yes, he hasn't been great, but he has his weaknesses, and his finishing isn't one of them.
Question is where will he play. Does LVG trust him to play in midfield (especially with Carrick out) and does Young deserve to keep his place? I'd play him in midfield and even if not, I dont think Young deserves his starting spot
It was the feel good factor of an exciting new signing. Redcafe ratings should be taken with a pinch of salt at the best of time but should be completely ignored when everyone is giddy about a potentially quality new signing, who's got a few flashy tricks up his sleeve. That's the kind of group hysteria that creates lunacy like Anderson shitting on Fabregas.
Wasn't just the caf though was it? Most media outlets too.
For "caf" read United fans in general. The caf wasn't responsible for the Anderson chant either.
That's not what I'm saying. In that run of games most people outside of United were saying the same things about di Maria which makes it completely frustrating that he's been hit or miss since.
Big name signing comes in with a huge load of hype around him, joins the biggest club in the country who've had a shite start to the season and has some exciting moments then plays a big part in the destruction of (as it turns out, diabolically bad) QPR. Not hard to see how the superstar United saviour narrative got written, even if you weren't personally invested in him being a success (which we all were)
Don't get me wrong. He was decent for those couple of games but the opposition and his form since gives all the initial hype a very different perspective. And yes, it's massively frustrating. I just disagree with the narrative that he was excellent as a CM then was shunted into positions he can't play, through no fault of his own.
Plus, unless I'm very much mistaken, all he's been asked to do since is play the position he's always played for Argentina. Not a big ask really.
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Completely agreed. Hence you had people finding it laughable to compare Di Maria to Sanchez.
I'm still not expecting people to say Sanchez is better (or even equal), but I doubt it's as 'laughable' now.
This. Heck I was excited too after those few games but it all went downhill after that for one reason or another.
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