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2014-15 Performances

View full 2014-15 profile

5.7 Season Average Rating
Appearances
32
Goals
4
Assists
13
Yellow cards
3
Red cards
1
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saivet said:
He played out wide then? I didn't see all of that game.
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Yeah, he was wide against West Brom. He basically did what he's done since, put in a lot of fantastic crosses, but not had anywhere near the same influence on the game as he did in his first games for us.

I don't think he's bad on the wing, it just restricts him too much, and you lose so much of what makes him such a great player.
 
Sam said:
Yeah, he was wide against West Brom. He basically did what he's done since, put in a lot of fantastic crosses, but not had anywhere near the same influence on the game as he did in his first games for us.

I don't think he's bad on the wing, it just restricts him too much, and you lose so much of what makes him such a great player.
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Exactly. I'm almost certain that if he plays centrally against Palace he will have a top, top game.
 
Sam said:
Yeah, he was wide against West Brom. He basically did what he's done since, put in a lot of fantastic crosses, but not had anywhere near the same influence on the game as he did in his first games for us.

I don't think he's bad on the wing, it just restricts him too much, and you lose so much of what makes him such a great player.
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Yeah, he's still good on the wing, just nowhere near as good as his normal quality when he runs through the middle.
 
He's barely seen any of the ball in the past few games. Criminal.

I remember Ronaldo used to get the ball in almost every attack. But I guess that was partly due to the genius of Paul Scholes.

Our attack should be built around Di Maria.
 
RedDevilCanuck said:
He's barely seen any of the ball in the past few games. Criminal.

I remember Ronaldo used to get the ball in almost every attack. But I guess that was partly due to the genius of Paul Scholes.

Our attack should be built around Di Maria.
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He's looked better in the diamond formation with Herrera.
 
I've been watching some highlights of Di Maria at Real Madrid, and I think I might be onto something that may explain his performances at United (source video is linked below rather than embedded).

1) ADM usually had 2, maybe 3 attacking players watching ADM ready to make their run towards goal. More killer-pass options means more opportunities for ADM to demonstrate his talent. Our first few games with ADM, we played 4-4-2 with two strikers plus Herrera who is quick and aggressive on the attack, so more passing options up front. The games in which ADM had his relative worst performances were with RVP playing as lone striker and our midfield was fairly defensive.

2) At Real Madrid, ADM had powerful, fast runners to pass to. Benzema and Ronaldo could outsprint the last man and get on the end of the ball. At United, Falcao and Rooney are both quick but Rooney has been playing very deep and Falcao is injured. RVP has a tendency of getting caught offsides or starting his runs too late/not quick enough.

3) The defending in some of these highlights is awful - ADM may be having some difficulty adjusting to the relatively high amount of pressing that occurs in the English game, and the amount of "park the bus" that other teams are playing against us.

#1 and #2 above are relatively easy fixes. Just need to get Falcao and Herrera back in the line-up, and our attacking players need to start getting used to making runs forward in anticipation of a pass from ADM. Right now, it's too predictable - Rooney or Januzaj will run towards ADM to get a sideways pass, leaving only a single attacking player trying to make a run towards goal, which is far too easy to defend against and pass-intercept. Change that so we have multiple players making that same run and we're in business.

#3 above is a bit troubling - it just means more of his killer passes are going to be intercepted, or ADM won't even be able to get off the pass that he wants without that little extra bit of skill, which may be part of the reason why we're seeing some poor passing from ADM.

Still no excuse for his corners though :P

 
Have we actually scored off one of his crosses yet? He must've put in about 30+ great crosses since he arrived, our strikers should be connecting with the majority of them but they haven't done so, and the ones that we do connect with are missed (Fellaini on Sunday).
 
Dominos said:
Have we actually scored off one of his crosses yet? He must've put in about 30+ great crosses since he arrived, our strikers should be connecting with the majority of them but they haven't done so, and the ones that we do connect with are missed (Fellaini on Sunday).
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Yes. Twice. Although, ironically, neither of them were intended as a cross!

Three times if you count RvP scoring with a rebound after Fellaini's header was saved.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Yes. Twice. Although, ironically, neither of them were intended as a cross!

Three times if you count RvP scoring with a rebound after Fellaini's header was saved.
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Pretty sure Fellaini's goal against West Brom was from a Di Maria cross too.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Yes. Twice. Although, ironically, neither of them were intended as a cross!

Three times if you count RvP scoring with a rebound after Fellaini's header was saved.
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He scuffed 2 low shots. You know what I mean, he's whipped in several worldies that we've failed to convert or even get contact on. RVP's equaliser against Chelsea is the shout but other than that we're not getting people on the end of his crosses in the traditional fashion.
 
Dominos said:
He scuffed 2 low shots. You know what I mean, he's whipped in several worldies that we've failed to convert or even get contact on. RVP's equaliser against Chelsea is the shout but other than that we're not getting people on the end of his crosses in the traditional fashion.
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This is true. I think it was the West Brom game in particularly where he was swinging in some great crosses which Van Persie didn't get on the end of. I we're going to continue playing ADM out wide (which I hope we don't) I can't wait to have Falcao back because he'd thrive off those deliveries with his aerial ability.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Yeah. Horrible dose, isn't it?

I'm just hoping we're not about to witness an endemic of Angelitis.
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I think that you are on to something, some people seems to think that Di Maria has been 'poor' because he was played 'out of position' when it is just a typical Di Maria slump, he has always been like that, little matter where he is playing.
That is also why i think that, if we have a good CM we should use Di Maria on the wing, there is slumps won't be as dangerous for us.
 
royboy16 said:
Not sure if this was posted yet but his verified page on face book has him in a Real Jersey ?
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the picture is still from the 11th July 2011. He isnt really online, i think his wife or whoever ''manages'' the website. I am sure he doesnt give a feck about his facebook page.
 
He hasnt played well in the last 2 games but has still produced some top quality crosses. Prefer him in a midfeild 3
 
Up for debate but I think most would go along with him being our best player.

You want your best player on the ball as much as possible, get him as many touches as possible, using him out wide at the moment is a real waste. Hopefully he takes up that inside left channel against Palace and can start attacking the opposition again.
 
Man Utd 1:0 Crystal Palace
What has happened to Di Maria is exactly as I feared when he first joined us. He was still using his form and confidence from Madrid in his first 4/5 games. But now that the performances from the rest of the team and the results have been so poor, it's now affecting him now too. Of course it will. It's only natural. This has happened many times before at other clubs too.
 
Not even a surprise that the two or three times he's actually had the ball in a central area, he's looked a hundred more times threatening then anytime he's had it on the wing.

Its so obvious it hurts.
 
I agree he's better centrally, but the whole "no coincidence he's been poor since he's gone out wide" is a cop out.
 
Has not been hugging the touch line as he did vs City and Chelsea, but still quite poor by his standards.

Had that one run and passed to Rooney who blazed over but he's not really putting in the individual performances he was during September. I did expect things to settle down, but I didn't expect him to become another decent player stifled by the Manchester United disease.
 
I think it's the set up personally. Undoubtedly there is some form loss with him trying to play to much as an individual but I'd say the bgiger problem is that he went from being central with lots of players close by to play off to being pushed out wide in a system where there is little central support. Most the time he and Januzaj are more in line with the DM than Fellaini/Rooney are. I just don't get the point in pushing Fellaini up so high and having Rooney. It means we're passing the ball slow and the two players who are going to create, draw the fouls, etc Di Maria/Januzaj are left to create something from so far out.
 
He's been woeful so far. Anyone else and we would be slaughtering him.

His best games came early on when he had Herrera and Blind around him with RVP providing incisive runs, he now has the awesome talents of Fellaini, Carrick and Rooney will all of their pace and nouse and is being expected to make things happen cutting in from the left. It's poor. He has too much to do and keeps trying everything. Having said that it's no excuse for his terrible deliveries from out wide so far.
 
Why has he forgotten how to dribble for the past 3 matches? Now he just runs straight into people giving them the ball
 
How many good games has he had for us? Against mighty QPR and Leicester + Everton? Overall not happy with him so far.
 
I think if we put him in Januzaj's current position he could do some damage for us. Don't know why we haven't tried. We clearly just need to get the ball in the box and cause some havoc.
 
Speak said:
I agree he's better centrally, but the whole "no coincidence he's been poor since he's gone out wide" is a cop out.
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He's so easy to mark out of a game out wide, just double team him and push him wide so all he can do is cross it.
 
We are getting the ball to him far too late, too much slow build up around the middle.
 
Sam said:
He's so easy to mark out of a game out wide, just double team him and push him wide so all he can do is cross it.
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I agree that he's better infield, but I find it a bit of a cop out.
And it's almost as if people assume that as soon as he goes infield, he'll definitely look like he did against QPR. That may not be the case at all.
 
Rooney is playing in the position where he needs to be. Unfortunately we have no other wingers, so unless we change the formation back to a diamond then he will be staying out wide.
 
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