Surprised he started tbh…was certain we’d play the way we started against City and then bring him on second half. Our right side just never posed a threat.
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If he can't play on the left side i really don't see the point. He is just too predictable and does not offer enough creativity on the right
Did ok by his own fairly low bar.
If we want to really hurt teams garnacho or pellestri should be starting ahead of him.
I hope this he is not ETH’s kryptonite and he will start every game……
If we want to really hurt teams garnacho or pellestri should be starting ahead of him.
I hope this he is not ETH’s kryptonite and he will start every game……
He can't. His crossing isn't good and you would take away his shooting and the only thing that makes him somewhat of a threat around penalty box - cutting in.
Antony is young but worries me is not his bad in game decisions but his distinct lack of pace, he just looks like he can’t go past his man for pace and the pl is all about pace and intensity. Personally I’d take him out of the firing line, we started pre season with Rashford, Martial and Sancho. Get them three fit, rotated with Garnaucho and we’ll be ok. Antony needs to be an impact sub right now.
If he wasnt much better defensively than Nacho then he wouldn't be starting.
A very underwhelming signing so far, very hard to say what aspects of the game he excels in. If it were not for the fee and profile he looks like the kind of player you might loan out and hope get a few million for him first chance you get.
So far the only really black mark against ETH who really wanted him but he looks well out of his depth in the Premier league , if he went to one of our rivals we would be saying we dodged a bullet there.
So far the only really black mark against ETH who really wanted him but he looks well out of his depth in the Premier league , if he went to one of our rivals we would be saying we dodged a bullet there.
He needs to get over his obsession of trying to be a Neymar and focus on the fecking basics. He holds on to the ball far too long, just pass it and keep running. There's 100% a player in there he's just utilising his skills all wrong.
Didn't think he did much bad. Was ok. If I was the oppo fullback I'd be pleased
He makes us a better team, without necessarily excelling himself. He's great at getting us up the pitch in numbers, sometimes it's incredibly frustrating because he counter attacks and you just want him to keep running but in fairness the cutting in and slowing play down is clearly by design because suddenly we tend to have numbers in offensive areas, if we had more variance in our attacking players and fluidity through the middle I think he'd look a much better player. He definitely needs Dalot back behind him as he is so much better at inverting than AWB, and gives Antony the easy quick short passes to come inside at a more dangerous angle and pace.
There are concerns there but I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt, we're still only 6 months into Ten Hag's style of play and he's still very young. I'm intrigued to see him linking up with a proper centre forward next season.
There are concerns there but I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt, we're still only 6 months into Ten Hag's style of play and he's still very young. I'm intrigued to see him linking up with a proper centre forward next season.
We do get worse when Bruno takes his spot on the right(I think ETH has to stop putting Bruno there).
But man is he frustrating to watch. That bit in the 2nd half when he acres of space and ran with the ball and then lost control was infuriating/comical. Can you post it @GifLord
But man is he frustrating to watch. That bit in the 2nd half when he acres of space and ran with the ball and then lost control was infuriating/comical. Can you post it @GifLord
Its not even about his performances at this point just don't think he is it, if he isn't consistently slowing down attacks hes making the wrong decisions, dribbling in a circle instead of crossing etc. Like im sorry but if Garnacho had the space Zinchenko had given Antony the game would be so different he had him dead like 3 times and refused to take him on.
I think what has surprised most Utd fans about Antony is just how slow he appears to be up against premier league players. He can't take anyone on because he has not got the pace and does not look like having the skill to do it either.
He works hard defensively which is plus but zero attacking threat.
And Sancho has not been a whole lot better either when he has been available , he has shown more attacking threat than Anthony but has a very low work rate and can;t take on a player either.
We have spent a crazy amount of money on two signings who can't do the basics very well.
He works hard defensively which is plus but zero attacking threat.
And Sancho has not been a whole lot better either when he has been available , he has shown more attacking threat than Anthony but has a very low work rate and can;t take on a player either.
We have spent a crazy amount of money on two signings who can't do the basics very well.
Thought there were positives from him today. Yes, he tumbled on his run but I felt he had way more attacking intent than in previous games.
Better game than usual today especially in the first half. Still missing that spark that you expect from a €100M player, but I've made my peace with the fact that he may never become THAT player. I reckon most who constantly moan here are where l was about him a month or so ago.
Despite that, you can see how important he is to our team shape. Our players instinctively have a picture of the pitch in their heads of him and Rashford's position, which helps us transition. We lose this as a team when Bruno moves over to the right, who coupled with his looseness on the ball adds to us being put under more pressure.
The most accurate way to describe him in this team is a steady Eddie. Decent enough that you know the team benefits theoretically, but missing that practical threat to really hurt the opposition.
Despite that, you can see how important he is to our team shape. Our players instinctively have a picture of the pitch in their heads of him and Rashford's position, which helps us transition. We lose this as a team when Bruno moves over to the right, who coupled with his looseness on the ball adds to us being put under more pressure.
The most accurate way to describe him in this team is a steady Eddie. Decent enough that you know the team benefits theoretically, but missing that practical threat to really hurt the opposition.
I watched Ajax a lot towards the end of last season and I have to say I’m surprised how bad Antony’s crossing has been for us. He was much better at cutting in and crossing (a bit like mahrez) to Haller or Tadic at the back post with Ajax.
Hopefully he can improve on that going forward.
Hopefully he can improve on that going forward.
Games like today make me very optimistic for him going forward. Thought he was excellent in the first, had excellent work rate throughout, showed his exquisite technique and control... It'll take time, but i do think he has huge potential and has the right attitude mixed with the right skills.
My main worry is how low is lows can be. Given his talent and reputation, I have no doubt he will have some world class games for us but I'm just tired of extremely inconsistent players.
You can see the quality he has the dribbling skills and I'm sure he'll come around.
Problem is we don't have proper competition for him to make him feel the pressure. Hopefully when Sancho comes back he'll challenge him and they'll push each other.
As of now he looks nothing like a 100M player but we all knew that already.
Problem is we don't have proper competition for him to make him feel the pressure. Hopefully when Sancho comes back he'll challenge him and they'll push each other.
As of now he looks nothing like a 100M player but we all knew that already.
I have to be honest, I was completely wrong about the type of player Antony is. I thought he was struggling for pace and strength and thats why we’ve not seen the best of him.
But going back and watching his “every touch” highlights in the champions league for Ajax I can see that the player we are seeing is exactly the player he is. There are almost no examples of him beating a man with pace or trickery.
His entire game (and its especially evident in the game where they smashed Dortmund) is based on staying wide, holding the ball and using the runs of the RB. He either releases the RB in behind or uses the run as a decoy to cut back onto his left and cross/shoot.
It’s actually shocking to see how advanced the Ajax RB played in order to get the best out of Antony. I have no idea whether that would ever be possible in the premier league but if it is - it certainly wont be done by Dalot or AWB because they don’t have the required skill set to constantly be on the overlap or under lap into the box and playing the final ball whilst also getting back to defend.
Antony definitely isnt an £85m player but its also clear to me now that the way he plays is intentional and we wont see it working until we get a new RB (which in fairness ten Hag has clearly wanted in both windows but we’ve not had the money).
Jeremie Frimpong is the only RB I can think of that is so outrageously attacking in terms of pace and final third delivery that he could make Antony look a decent buy.
Would you have expected at least one world class game from him in his first 19 games for us?
He's been quite poor form offensively but because of his defensive work rate we can afford to have him in the team in big games like these but we're better off going with someone else against smaller teams.
Just been going through some of the early posts on this thread....dearie, dearie me.
Watched the game, thought he was quite good. Not anything like as bad as some make out, but nothing special either. Still think he will come good.
Disappointing again. All the money spent on him and sancho and our right wing is still a huge problem.
It's amazing how this club is so bad at evaluating player' value.
Martinelli costed Arsenal how much?
Martinelli costed Arsenal how much?
I thought he played well to be fair.
Well, I think we shouldn't blame club (at least not this signing). It's 100% ETH - he insisted on signing him. I don't want to says that he is flop but it's not really promising for 90M signing. Let's give him more time.
Antony of course played worse compared with Saka , but actually far better than the like of Bruno, Eriksen and McT who have been totally run-out and non-existed . Our forward 3 and the back 4 kept us in the game for so long but could not cope the whole 90 mins. When Antony was sub off, he already gassed out, so did Rashford and Weghorst. I would not point fingers to Antony for this game.
I really could not understand why ETH did not sub off Eriksen or Bruno. We were 3 days less rested compared with Arsenal , but only sub one for the whole game ? I think that's the key point we lost last minute .
I really could not understand why ETH did not sub off Eriksen or Bruno. We were 3 days less rested compared with Arsenal , but only sub one for the whole game ? I think that's the key point we lost last minute .
The club had all but signed Toni Kroos, until Louis Van Gaal came along and decided he wasn't for him. The club had spent years scouting Fabinho, then Mourinho came in made them get Matic instead. Who was his boy from Chelsea - and was redundant after 6 months. The club vetoed Maguire under Mourinho, and then got forced into signing him when Solskjaer came in and asked for him because the 'back the manager' dimwits made the club a toxic cesspit after it was revealed that the club refused to sanction that signing a year before.
He is our equivalent of Chelsea’s Harvetz. Both cost a lot of money and having seen them played for some time, have us questioning the most basic question - Just what the heck is this man good at?
Yup Fabinho was begging to join us in 2017 and iirc Moyes turned down Thiago as well, the problem position for the last decade would have been sorted had we not hired dinosaurs.
Agree with this.
I think once we bring in a proper goalkeeper and a midfielder who is creative and occupies the RHS, we will have more fluid build up and much improved link up play in the final third.
ETH misjudged the league and team. We scored 57 goals last year, an attacker from Dutch league was never going to improve us massively. His numbers in Eredivisie wasn't that impressive to begin with.
But ETH didn't set the price, Ajax did. It wasn't his fault that club decided to spend big on one average player. It's our board to blame.
I'd love to be optimistic but so far Antony hasn't shown that he has IT in him, not even half a moment.
I just wish he was that bit quicker. If he had blistering pace he’d ben unstoppable but he lacks that get out of jail free card pace gives you so can get bogged down when doubled up on.
I like him though & think he’ll look better as the team gets better around him, when we’ve a CF people need to really pay attention to & midfielders who can keep the ball them get it to him in good positions.
I like him though & think he’ll look better as the team gets better around him, when we’ve a CF people need to really pay attention to & midfielders who can keep the ball them get it to him in good positions.
Currently, Antony is worse than Dan James was in his first season, both in terms of goals + assists per 90 PL mins and expected goals + assists per 90 PL mins.
282 mins per goal or assist in PL. 0.25 xG90 + 0.04 xA90
Dan James (first season) 255 mins per goal or assist in PL 0.14 xG90 + 0.17 xA90
Indeed, he is alarmingly close to Elanga's productivity; main difference being Elanga has wasted decent chances inside the area, so underperforms his expected goals.
Elanga 294 PL mins per goal or assist, xG90 0.24 xA90 0.16
(stats from Understat)
282 mins per goal or assist in PL. 0.25 xG90 + 0.04 xA90
Dan James (first season) 255 mins per goal or assist in PL 0.14 xG90 + 0.17 xA90
Indeed, he is alarmingly close to Elanga's productivity; main difference being Elanga has wasted decent chances inside the area, so underperforms his expected goals.
Elanga 294 PL mins per goal or assist, xG90 0.24 xA90 0.16
(stats from Understat)
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How the feck have ended up spending over a hundred and fifty million on two wide players who have no pace for the premier league. It's ridiculous.
The striker is absolutely vital - more so than any other position. Sure a midfielder and goalkeeper helps the playing out from the back but there are many ways to play and that specifically wouldn't impact Antony. With Antony it's confidence, adapting to the league, the club, the pressures here and the price tag pressure IMO, but also developing his own game more. Genuinely think we'll get Kane and we'll see a different level from our whole attack. Sancho and Antony especially. Having someone who scares opponents in the middle makes a big difference, someone to be a focal point.
My worry with a Kane - Sancho - Antony line up would be pace. I’d veer toward Osimhen if possible with the wing options we have.
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