[Ole's_toe_poke]

I was going to post this in the other thread but since that one is about who is buying the players I think I'll post it in here.

I think he wanted Di Maria. He even name dropped him during pre-season. Thing is in his quotes in preseason he quoted Di Maria as a "winger". But has rarely played him there.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ngel-di-maria-deal-demanded-by-louis-van-gaal

Actually on second thought to my comment, Van Gaal mentions Ronaldo in those quotes as well. Ronaldo does play out wide but cuts in and almost plays like a striker. He's deployed Di Maria in a similar sort of role. Same like his use of Robben for the Dutch.

Perhaps he is using Di Maria exactly how he intended to use him i.e. a cutting in wide forward. Which would be really worrying, because Di Maria's best has come in a deeper midfield role or as an out an out winger. He doesn't posses the shooting capabilities of Robben let alone Ronaldo. It'll be a huge waste.

 

[Ole240599]

Too often gives back possession, RM took us to the cleaners with the transfer fee.

 

[Amadaeus]

Too often gives back possession, RM took us to the cleaners with the transfer fee.

He is a creator, so it is expected for him not to have 90% plus passing accuracy considering he takes more risk with his pass.

I would not say Real Madrid took us to the cleaners for the reason that in the beginning of the season, he looked well worth his figure. At the moment, Van Gaal is just struggling to incorporate all his stars names into his philosophy and finding the right balance with his team and system. As such, it has affected his performance.

 

[ZDwyr]

Honestly, he was abysmal and lucky to stay on for as long as he did. If any other player had put in a performance like that they would have been hammered. He needs more match time and to be moved back into midfield.

 

[World Game]

Passing was atrocious, has his decision making gone down to a Januzaj level?

 

[Ole240599]

He is a creator, so it is expected for him not to have 90% plus passing accuracy considering he takes more risk with his pass.

I would not say Real Madrid took us to the cleaners for the reason that in the beginning of the season, he looked well worth his figure. At the moment, Van Gaal is just struggling to incorporate all his stars names into his philosophy and finding the right balance with his team and system. As such, it has affected his performance.

I red somewhere that Ancelotti was not fussed about losing him because of his inability to keep possession. I think he has the potential to be a match winner but I think he will be a frustrating player due to amount of possession he coughs up.

 

[WR10]

Best creator of 2014 getting shoved into the striker role with his back to goal. Mind blowing.

 

[Roman Bellic]

He is not a striker, he rarely scores goals, he is a playmaker and was played out of position against Soton,with that being said - he seems to lose the ball a lot and has poor decision making skills

He isn't worth 60 million imo, its looking more and more like we are overpaying more than these players are worth, i mean from Fellaini to Mata to Di Maria.

 

[Cheesy]

Best creator of 2014 getting shoved into the striker role with his back to goal. Mind blowing.

The bizarre part to me is that playing him in the striker role just does not make sense at all. While he's a bit constricted as a winger, there's a lot to his game that means he's got attributes which can be suited to a winger, even if it's not his prime position, but playing him as a back to goal striker is incredibly bizarre. I'd rather see him out on the wing, as much as it can occasionally limit his game.

 

[WR10]

The bizarre part to me is that playing him in the striker role just does not make sense at all. While he's a bit constricted as a winger, there's a lot to his game that means he's got attributes which can be suited to a winger, even if it's not his prime position, but playing him as a back to goal striker is incredibly bizarre. I'd rather see him out on the wing, as much as it can occasionally limit his game.

It is somewhat understandable if you are playing a 352 counter attacking system away from home, where Di maria can almost play the Robben role in the WC Dutch set up. But what completely blows my mind is playing him as a striker home, where we're not set up to counter attack. I got a lot of hate for raging right after the game for the Fellaini-Di maria striker sub, but now that I think about it, I'm even more frustrated. Why did LVG think Fellaini is a better striker than Di maria is a midfielder? He could have easily just switched Rooney and Di maria's positions and avoided the whole tactical hoof ball defeat. Once again, LVG is clueless as to how to use Di Maria

 

[Will Singh]

He got player of the year 2014 for Argentina!! That's ahead of Messi and Aguero and we have people on Caf saying his not worth his £60M. I think the problem is more LVG playing him upfront and playing Rooney in his position which is mind boggling.

Put him in the middle and watch him rock and roll....

 

[KeninDC]

Pescado out of agua as a striker. Best role is running at people or into space-which opens things up for others. Instead he was target man for long passes-which Soton did well defending.

Can't believe I'm writing this because it's so obvious-but LvG needs to play MFs in midfield and strikers up top. The talent is there-but the tactics are holding things back.

 

[Rezyuz]

He got player of the year 2014 for Argentina!! That's ahead of Messi and Aguero and we have people on Caf saying his not worth his £60M. I think the problem is more LVG playing him upfront and playing Rooney in his position which is mind boggling.

Put him in the middle and watch him rock and roll....

Regardless of his position. The way he cuts in and shoots does not remind me of Arjen robben, but a 12 yr old girl who still kicks the ball with the tip of her toes and just rolls the ball over the ground. And the worst thing is, Di Maria has done this about 50 times in his last 5 appearances.

 

[m1y2]

I don't see why he couldn't play there and score a lot of goals for us.. give him free roaming role around striker and he will do it, he is quick, good at tight spaces can run at players ALMOST like robben.. the problem was that we don't have midfield and play this stupid system so he couldn't get into game. Next time I would like to see him with herrera dominating midfield tho.. we can experiment with him once we figure out our midfield..

 

[LLMU]

Wasted playing upfront especially in a 3-5-2 formation. He is not a poacher but a creator. Rooney should be up top rather than him.

 

[khoazany]

I don't see why he couldn't play there and score a lot of goals for us.. give him free roaming role around striker and he will do it, he is quick, good at tight spaces can run at players ALMOST like robben.. the problem was that we don't have midfield and play this stupid system so he couldn't get into game. Next time I would like to see him with herrera dominating midfield tho.. we can experiment with him once we figure out our midfield..

I don't rate his finishing.

 

[luckyspurs]

Can someone please convince me he's bringing more to the team than Nani would have, if he'd stayed put?

Today was horribly reminiscent of one of Nani's bad days. Constantly making bad decisions and losing possession cheaply, combined with one or two fantastic balls into the box.

He's had some very good performances too. But you'd have got that with Nani. At considerably less expense!

Over the last 4 seasons and this one.

Dribbling success

Nani 62%
Di Maria: 46%

Di Maria's dribbling look amazing when it works, but he loses the ball a lot more than casual onlookers of Real Madrid games who got giddy off that Champions League final run thought. It makes it difficult for the midfield around him; particularly when he isn't working as hard defensively as last season.

Goals and assist

Di Maria: 80 goals/assists in 151 hours (117 minutes per goal/assist)
Nani: 44 goals/assists in 100 hours (136 minutes per goal/assist)

Di Maria's been better, but there's not an incredible amount in it.

 

[sullydnl]

That's a redcafe consensus. Don't think VG ever said that.

Nope, he said it:

Louis van Gaal has admitted to MUTV his hand has been forced when it comes to selecting his formation for Manchester United's recent Barclays Premier League matches.

The boss has been pleased with the work of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia in wing-back slots but feels the attacking duo are not suited to orthodox defensive roles. With Rafael still to appear after injury, despite being on the bench last weekend, and Luke Shaw sidelined since sustaining ankle ligament damage at Arsenal, there has been a preference for a three-man central defence of late.

Young and Valencia have pushed forward to good effect, setting up goals against Aston Villa and Liverpool respectively, but the system could revert to a flat back four when Rafael and Shaw are back fully fit.

"Yeah, but as wing-backs and not as full-backs," the manager replied when asked how pleased he has been with Young and Valencia. "Now I am more or less obliged to play with wing-backs because the real full-backs, Shaw and Rafael da Silva, were not fit enough and that is not good. I have to select what I want but now I am forced to select. For a manager, that is not so good."

Which is fair enough really. Young and Valencia aren't even wingbacks, let alone proper fullbacks.

 

[Amar__]

That's a redcafe consensus. Don't think VG ever said that.

He said we have to play 5 man defence because we are missing Rafael and Shaw, only to contradict himself in next game and start game with Rafael and Shaw - in 5 man defence again. He then substituted them both at half time and switched to 4 man defence with Blackett and McNair as fullbacks.

 

[kafta]

I think hes trying too hard. He should just keep it a tad more simple, and he'll be fine. Needs to cut out the idea of trying something spectacular every time he has the ball.

 

[Will Singh]

Regardless of his position. The way he cuts in and shoots does not remind me of Arjen robben, but a 12 yr old girl who still kicks the ball with the tip of her toes and just rolls the ball over the ground. And the worst thing is, Di Maria has done this about 50 times in his last 5 appearances.

1 bad loss and all if a sudden our players play like 12 year old girls!! I agree his flopped a few shots and a couple have led to assists lol but his the best player at the club and 1 of the top high profile signings we have made!

 

[MTR]

1 bad loss and all if a sudden our players play like 12 year old girls!! I agree his flopped a few shots and a couple have led to assists lol but his the best player at the club and 1 of the top high profile signings we have made!

One game? His last good game was on 5th October. However he didn't play much in midfield after that and that may be one of the reasons.

 

[Pexbo]

He said we have to play 5 man defence because we are missing Rafael and Shaw, only to contradict himself in next game and start game with Rafael and Shaw - in 5 man defence again. He then substituted them both at half time and switched to 4 man defence with Blackett and McNair as fullbacks.

I think that was more down to the fact he was playing McNair and/or Blackett as Jones, Evans and Rojo were unavailable and he knew he was likely to have to substitute the not yet fully match fit Rafael and Shaw.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Just cannot get my head round the idea that any footballer who ever completes as little as 62% of their passes in a game should be played in central midfield. Admittedly it's just one game but his passing has been very hit and miss every time I've watched him. And that's not to mention unsuccessful dribbles. How does a team accomodate a player in the middle of the park who loses possession that often?

Definitely looks like Van Gaal wants him to have the same role as Robben had for Holland in the world cup. In fact, the extent of his tactical input on our team seems to have been trying to turn us into Holland at the world cup. Has Di Maria ever posed the kind of goal threat that Robben has?

 

[Insanity]

Just cannot get my head round the idea that any footballer who ever completes as little as 62% of their passes in a game should be played in central midfield. Admittedly it's just one game but his passing has been very hit and miss every time I've watched him. And that's not to mention unsuccessful dribbles. How does a team accomodate a player in the middle of the park who loses possession that often?

Definitely looks like Van Gaal wants him to have the same role as Robben had for Holland in the world cup. In fact, the extent of his tactical input on our team seems to have been trying to turn us into Holland at the world cup. Has Di Maria ever posed the kind of goal threat that Robben has?

No, he has always been a creator, a player who makes more assists than score goals. That is why it is more baffling using him with his back to the goal just in order to have a pacey player upfront.

As for being a midfielder, that he played as a "Central midfielder" is pure myth. He played as a left sided attacker starting from deeper in the midfield, more tucked in than a traditional winger. If you watched him for Madrid, he'll often take position on the left side with Ronaldo moving centrally making it almost a 442. Think of numerous time Giggsy played as a tucked in winger for us, almost making him a third midfielder.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Just cannot get my head round the idea that any footballer who ever completes as little as 62% of their passes in a game should be played in central midfield. Admittedly it's just one game but his passing has been very hit and miss every time I've watched him. And that's not to mention unsuccessful dribbles. How does a team accomodate a player in the middle of the park who loses possession that often?

Definitely looks like Van Gaal wants him to have the same role as Robben had for Holland in the world cup. In fact, the extent of his tactical input on our team seems to have been trying to turn us into Holland at the world cup. Has Di Maria ever posed the kind of goal threat that Robben has?

To be fair he isn't the player who is in charge of dictating the play, he is the 1 who is trying the risky passes to make a goal. I would much rather he played some killer balls, and go for gaps that were difficult to create goals than just play it safe and pass sideways or backwards every game.

Unfortunately like Nani he is a player who maybe tries to force it a little, but when on form these little passes come off and look magestic. I think Southampton just defended well which made it look worse. Sure he didn't actually have a "good" game, but losing possession in game where they are sitting very deep and compact is nothing to worry about.

 

[Sarni]

Just cannot get my head round the idea that any footballer who ever completes as little as 62% of their passes in a game should be played in central midfield. Admittedly it's just one game but his passing has been very hit and miss every time I've watched him. And that's not to mention unsuccessful dribbles. How does a team accomodate a player in the middle of the park who loses possession that often?

Definitely looks like Van Gaal wants him to have the same role as Robben had for Holland in the world cup. In fact, the extent of his tactical input on our team seems to have been trying to turn us into Holland at the world cup. Has Di Maria ever posed the kind of goal threat that Robben has?

He looked excellent in midfield at Real Madrid and I don't think his passing stats were amazing there, he's not the sort of a midfielder who will play short safe passes. He's an explosive midfielder who can take the ball forward and create something out of nothing, he could have a 70% passing completion in a game and end up with 3 assists the way he plays. He's not really a typical central midfielder.

If we're going to use him as a forward/winger then I hope we sell him in the Summer, it's pointless. Marquee signing that we have no idea how to use, after good first 4-5 games he has turned into a Manchester United of current player.

 

[Godfather]

Just cannot get my head round the idea that any footballer who ever completes as little as 62% of their passes in a game should be played in central midfield. Admittedly it's just one game but his passing has been very hit and miss every time I've watched him. And that's not to mention unsuccessful dribbles. How does a team accomodate a player in the middle of the park who loses possession that often?

Definitely looks like Van Gaal wants him to have the same role as Robben had for Holland in the world cup. In fact, the extent of his tactical input on our team seems to have been trying to turn us into Holland at the world cup. Has Di Maria ever posed the kind of goal threat that Robben has?

I'm sure his stats would look better in midfield though as he would adjust his game to the more central role. He is just better there and Ancelotti saw that as well. Feck knows what LvG is doing with him.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

So, player gets relatively free role in a team who will be utterly dominant in 9 out of every 10 games they play and racks up an impressive number of assists playing behind the best striker on the planet. Moves to a new club, looks good for a few games before it becomes apparent that his manager seems unwilling to play him in what is allegedly his best position and performances drop off when asked to play anywhere else.

Has the Ozil comparison been made yet?

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Apart from his first few games, his decision making has been poor, the number of bad touches and bad passes terrible, and the free kicks and corners were dreadfull. From any position on the pitch, it's ridiculous to blame the manager for that.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Just cannot get my head round the idea that any footballer who ever completes as little as 62% of their passes in a game should be played in central midfield. Admittedly it's just one game but his passing has been very hit and miss every time I've watched him. And that's not to mention unsuccessful dribbles. How does a team accomodate a player in the middle of the park who loses possession that often?

Definitely looks like Van Gaal wants him to have the same role as Robben had for Holland in the world cup. In fact, the extent of his tactical input on our team seems to have been trying to turn us into Holland at the world cup. Has Di Maria ever posed the kind of goal threat that Robben has?

I don't think that's a big problem as long as he's paired with the right players. I guess the issue is that you can't play Di María in a midfield two and you can't really play him in a midfield 3 with Ander Herrera because he also has a habit of losing the ball too often in midfield. Would Di María with Carrick and Blind be too cautious to work?

 

[SammyUnited_83]

Looks like he is losing interest rapidly to me, totally different to the player we had in September.

 

[justboy68]

He'll come good again when we put him somewhere in the centre of the pitch. He was fecking magical there at the start of the season and last year for Real. We all know Sanchez was a great buy and we should have got him too, especially if we are trying to shoehorn Di Maria into his best bloody position, regardless they are different players who (ideally) play in different positions so I don't see why the comparison is drawn so frequently. Di Maria as part of a midfield 3 behind Rooney and Sanchez, now that would have been something to behold eh?

 

[NinjaZombie]

He is not a striker, he rarely scores goals, he is a playmaker and was played out of position against Soton,with that being said - he seems to lose the ball a lot and has poor decision making skills

He isn't worth 60 million imo, its looking more and more like we are overpaying more than these players are worth, i mean from Fellaini to Mata to Di Maria.

Fellaini I can agree with, but Mata and Di Maria were both vital players for Chelsea and Real Madrid respectively. I think it says more about the state of our football club that we can't seem to get them to be as effective as they used to be.

That being said, this was Di Maria's first game back from injury, and Mata has looked increasingly better this past few games.

 

[legball]

I know he is not a striker, but my God, his passing has been poor, set pieces has been poor and overall decision making has been terrible in most games. How can we blame "being played slightly out of position" for stuff like this? Professional footballers should be able to control the ball and pass it to their mates irrespective of where they are played on the pitch. Well, not like I'm surprised or anything, Di Maria has always been like this, he's so similar to Nani, but more talented.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Have you tried him on the right yet, by the way? Before you switched to wingbacks, obviously. I always liked him there at Real Madrid - he had some consistency problems, but on the whole was pretty great...especially cutting in and crossing towards the far post.

 

[Shark]

He was supposed to be that superstar player that helps fire us into the top four, but right now he's looking like a fecking liability. He's dropped his performance levels to what Nani used to serve up at his worst.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I know he is not a striker, but my God, his passing has been poor, set pieces has been poor and overall decision making has been terrible in most games. How can we blame "being played slightly out of position" for stuff like this? Professional footballers should be able to control the ball and pass it to their mates irrespective of where they are played on the pitch. Well, not like I'm surprised or anything, Di Maria has always been like this, he's so similar to Nani, but more talented.

I bumped this post last night to make the comparison to Nani. Haven't been watching enough La Liga to get much of a feel for the bloke but from what I've seen this season the similarity with Nani is uncanny. The good and the bad. And I completely agree that playing out of position as an excuse only goes so far. It certainly doesn't excuse getting the basics wrong as much as we saw against Southampton.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

He has a genuine desire to get things going and take the game on, much like Sanchez. Both will lose the ball or play some poor passes because of this, but get them in the right system and they will obviously win games off their own boot. Players like that can create a goal out of nothing even on a poor day.

I don't understand why he's being played up-top though, it goes against almost all of his strengths - unless he's told to drop (very) deep to pick up the ball and run at defenders.

Personally I think van Gaal is trying to be too clever and accommodating all of his big names. Someone needs to take the fall and sit games out so Di Maria can play in his best position (midfield).

Di Maria - Herrera
Blind/Carrick

That seems like a winning combination to me.

Having said all this, I hope van Gaal continues to play him up-top as it is good for the rest of us.

Ffs man

Agree with your post, especially the part about LVG trying to fit all the big names in.

 

[Utd7]

In this 3-5-2 system, it seems like LvG wants to play him upfront in the Robben role. But di Maria is no Robben, they're not the same player just because they share the same trait of great pace. Robben has a better goal scoring record and is more shifty and fluid in his movement. Play this man in the midfield again so he can create chances.