[RuudTom83]

82 Million with the odd add ons, comes close enough to 90 million.

I think those add-ons are never going to activated.

 

[sglowrider]

Some of the posts on here are bizarre. Amad is a young player and played in a challenging division. Anyone can see the potential when you watch him, of course he may not be good enough. Yes we

Why should he do that? We have a huge scouting network, and they had already dismissed Antony. His whole job is meant to be ensuring we sign players with genuine promise or will fit the team. They went all in on ETH, because they are inept and should be sacked, but sadly ETH has also shown he cant pick players.

Most clubs will try & support their brand-new manager as much as possible. We also overpaid for Martinez -- another ETH's choice by coming in very late which forced the price up. We got Antony when really we had a couple of options he could have developed including Amad or Pellestri.

I think we were better with the pace or timing of this summer's transfers. But I just think the priorities were wrong. A ball-playing CB would be the 2nd highest priority after a striker. Instead, we went for Mount when he could have developed Hannibal and used the money on a CB or gotten 2 strikers (a young & an experienced one.)

If he survives this season, I am sure he won't be given as much rope again. He's burnt up a lot of his credit in the bank.

 

[El Jefe]

This season so far he has played 628 minutes in all competitions and has 0 goals or assists. At least last season he was fluking some in but even that is gone now. We are struggling so much to score right now and it isn’t really a surprise considering how much this guy plays

We’re playing in the CL this season and teams have caught onto his one trick.

I said all of last season the only reason he had 3 in 3 in his PL start last season is because teams knew nothing about him. Just look at the goal scored against Arsenal, Ramsdale went to save it at the near post but now we know Antony only shoots to the far post.

His numbers will always be awful because of how predictably average he is.

 

[Andycoleno9]

So we should always buy established stars then. The United Way.

You can and you must take cheap(er) gamble then and there but yes, when you are buying first 11 player for premium money then you must pay attention to stats. In Holland (much weaker league) Antony never had more than 10 goals or assists in sesson. His stats overall were 24 G and 22 A in 82 games. So how can anyone expect that he will upgrade those stats in toughest league in the world?

For this kind of transfers DoFs are getting sacked in other clubs.

 

[lex talionis]

There is no plausible doubt whatsoever that Antony was a disastrous buy for United, but the question before us now is what ETH should do with him right now. Keep starting him in the hope that he plays into form or bench him for Pellistri or Amad when Amad returns in what appears to be his return to fitness in a month?

An international break is coming up soon, not soon enough for Antony whom we have to assume will not be on duty for Brazil. A benching now for Copenhagen and then Luton in favor of Pellistri would be a good thing for all parties and then perhaps after the break, depending on Pellistri's performances, Antony can return a new man.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Are you saying Bruno was a bad buy and that he is out of his depth physically? He probably has one of the best engines, if not the best engine in the entire league.
Sancho could probably easily adapt to it if he made the effort, so can probably Amrabat

Bruno has been good for us but also a reason why we haven't challenged for anything. Our best attacker is too slow and weak. Look at every top attacker in the world - none are slow and weak. Please name a top attacker in the world who is not physically a beast.

 

[troylocker]

Bruno has been good for us but also a reason why we haven't challenged for anything. Our best attacker is too slow and weak. Look at every top attacker in the world - none are slow and weak. Please name a top attacker in the world who is not physically a beast.

Thomas Muller?
Andres Iniesta
David Silva etc....

One could argue Bernardo Silva is doing a decent job at City....

 

[lsd]

Why are we so bad at scouting talent?
Doku has better numbers in a single game than Antony this season, can play on both sides and was cheaper!

How many times are people going to blame our scouts for Antony when they didn't want him and advised against him?

Antony is all on Ten Hag and nothing to do with our scouting system.

We were linked with Doku so clearly had identified him among others.

Erik however wasn't interested in anyone but Antony

It might have been Kudus actually we wanted

 

[gaffs]

It was a massively inept performance on Saturday.

But i think there is a player in there somewhere. We saw glimpses last season - the debut goal v Arsenal and goal v Barca.

It is on ETH to get him back into some kind of form.

 

[Rossa]

Bruno has been good for us but also a reason why we haven't challenged for anything. Our best attacker is too slow and weak. Look at every top attacker in the world - none are slow and weak. Please name a top attacker in the world who is not physically a beast.

Bruno isn't even slow for his position. He's about the same as KDB, quicker off the mark but slightly slower in terms of top speed. Faster than David Silva, faster than Mata ever was, faster than Bernardo Silva, Müller, Cantona wasn't fast - Ødegaard isn't much faster - he's a 10, so speed isn't that vital. I agree that he is exposed when playing out wide, so he shouldn't play there, but as a 10, he's more than quick enough. Btw, I'll put RvP as a fairly slow-ish player without great physicality who was brilliant. Bergkamp wasn't fast either.

Now, unfortunately, as for Antony, I've defended him in the past, but the way he's playing, he's looking far too slow as a wide player. He looks quick enough in moments, but then he over-thinks, stops, turns back, does some body feints as if he is the only one on the dance floor in a night club, and then realizes he just looks silly, so turns and passes backwards. So utterly pointless.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Thomas Muller?
Andres Iniesta
David Silva etc....

One could argue Bernardo Silva is doing a decent job at City....

What about that physical beast Lionel Messi?!

 

[troylocker]

How many times are people going to blame our scouts for Antony when they didn't want him and advised against him?

Antony is all on Ten Hag and nothing to do with our scouting system.

We were linked with Doku so clearly had identified him among others.

Erik however wasn't interested in anyone but Antony

It might have been Kudus actually we wanted

If ETH isn't to blaim for buying Antony, he is to blaim for insisting on playing him, despite offering very little and being extremely frustrating to watch.

The Doku freakshow on Saturday will not happen again, and he's actually kind of a more explosive version of Antony playing on the right. Bad decision making, very onefooted and mostly ineffective. Frustrating player too.
Kudus would come with no guarantees either. More direct though, which would probably suit us better than the showboat player type.

I've played 25 seasons of senior football as a striker and I'm retiring again after this season at 48 (My knees won't survive another season). The shoes have been on and off the shelf a few times the last ten years, I've never played on the top level and this last stint is on the 7th tier, but I think I have more experience on a football pitch than most. My worst nightmare would be to play striker with Antony and Doku flanking me. The absence of early or good crosses, the onefootedness and tendency to only go one way (inwards) 98% of the time and weak shots from outside the box against the far corner would probably kill me from frustration.

 

[UnitedRepublic]

He has potential as a left back thats it for me thats what we should retrain him as because no one would like to buy him of us for a fraction of his fee.

 

[Black Adder]

There are shit players and then there's Antony, in a league of his own when it comes to shitness.

But luckily for him, no matter how shit he is he's still going to start every match possible until ETH is our manager.

 

[Suv666]

How many times are people going to blame our scouts for Antony when they didn't want him and advised against him?

because managers change yet recruitment remains the same. You’ve got to point the finger at whoever’s heading recruitment at this point. We’ve been here before, where managers have identified the wrong player, we paid the big bucks then struggled to move them. Why the feck is this shit being allowed every year?

 

[robinrooney]

What about Maguire?

Let's not exaggerate things. Antony does win more matches when he is playing.

Antony is a much worse signing than Maguire. And I think Maguire is bang average

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Most clubs will try & support their brand-new manager as much as possible. We also overpaid for Martinez -- another ETH's choice by coming in very late which forced the price up. We got Antony when really we had a couple of options he could have developed including Amad or Pellestri.

I think we were better with the pace or timing of this summer's transfers. But I just think the priorities were wrong. A ball-playing CB would be the 2nd highest priority after a striker. Instead, we went for Mount when he could have developed Hannibal and used the money on a CB or gotten 2 strikers (a young & an experienced one.)

If he survives this season, I am sure he won't be given as much rope again. He's burnt up a lot of his credit in the bank.

If he survives, I'm praying Ratcliffe and co fully clean house above him and install an actual football dept to take care of the transfers. It's the only chance ETH has of turning around his fortunes here.

And yes not going all out for Kim (or even Todibo as a cheaper option) and instead bending over for Chelsea so we can pay 60m for Mount was a catastrophic feck up.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Antony is a much worse signing than Maguire. And I think Maguire is bang average

Oh it's not even close. I can't stand Maguire but he's been far more useful to the club than Antony over the years, and genuinely good in the 20/21 season.

 

[Fortitude]

Oh it's not even close. I can't stand Maguire but he's been far more useful to the club than Antony over the years, and genuinely good in the 20/21 season.

Further to that, Maguire has never not been considered PL standard. Even at his worst, there's a key role for him at middling PL, if they can afford him. Antony is at a crossroads where the genuine concern is he isn't a PL-level player and if he was let go tomorrow, he'd need an absolutely severe wage cut for any PL club to look in his direction, so the gulf is huge.

Smaller clubs also don't tend to use play-making wingers.

If Antony comes out of this a few years down the line, still here and a top class performer, it'll have been the greatest turnaround I'll have known for this club.

 

[jem]

What about Maguire?

Let's not exaggerate things. Antony does win more matches when he is playing.

Maguire shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Antony. Sure he's had some rough patches, but he's also had moments of being a solid contributor to a winning team (ex. second half of 2020-21.) Antony is just useless.

 

[KD6-3.7]

It was a massively inept performance on Saturday.

But i think there is a player in there somewhere. We saw glimpses last season - the debut goal v Arsenal and goal v Barca.

It is on ETH to get him back into some kind of form.

He was largely anonymous in his debut against Arsenal despite the goal, and the fact that you can only point to two goals that were so far apart really shows there’s been so few occasions that he has shown any considerable talent. He doesn’t even have a slimmer of ability that the likes of Nani or even Valencia had, this is the sort of transfer we need to cut our losses with as soon as possible.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Further to that, Maguire has never not been considered PL standard. Even at his worst, there's a key role for him at middling PL, if they can afford him. Antony is at a crossroads where the genuine concern is he isn't a PL-level player and if he was let go tomorrow, he'd need an absolutely severe wage cut for any PL club to look in his direction, so the gulf is huge.

Smaller clubs also don't tend to use play-making wingers.

If Antony comes out of this a few years down the line, still here and a top class performer, it'll have been the greatest turnaround I'll have known for this club.

Also, the sad part is he’s not even a playmaking winger. His assist/creative stats have been pretty mediocre/bad historically

 

[gaffs]

He was largely anonymous in his debut against Arsenal despite the goal, and the fact that you can only point to two goals that were so far apart really shows there’s been so few occasions that he has shown any considerable talent. He doesn’t even have a slimmer of ability that the likes of Nani or even Valencia had, this is the sort of transfer we need to cut our losses with as soon as possible.

I'm not saying he has been great, by any means.

It's a weird narrative. People will say in Ten Hag we trust, yet slam this transfer and be ready to sell him for a massive loss. Who would buy him right now?

He is not getting sold this year, or next. Especially if the manager stays.

If anyone can get something out of him, its ETH.

 

[Wilt]

Want him sold ASAP and don’t care how much loss we make

 

[Fortitude]

Also, the sad part is he’s not even a playmaking winger. His assist/creative stats have been pretty mediocre/bad historically

His [best] numbers are very much in keeping with what a playmaking winger would produce, but what's just as important - if not more - is the affect on the game, pre-assists, opponent disarray (dragging as many bodies to him before release) as well as getting as many of his own team up the pitch.

Grealish, Iniesta, David Silva etc. all had numbers (goals and assists) in his ball park whilst being commended for their impact on games. 9 goals and 8 assists in 32 Eredivisie games ('20/'21) as the kind of return carried over, would be a solid contribution. I think we'd be very happy with that on top of play-making, which would make him a constant thorn for the opposition even if he wasn't passing or shooting directly for goal(s).

All of his best work came with Mazraoui, however. He hasn't got a fraction of that level here and it kills his game.

I don't know if he'll ever get the chance to work with a Mazraoui-level FB here, but I'd say he is severely compromised without it. Probably the most co-dependent wide-man I've seen - all of the aforementioned players didn't need a world class FB to assist them to be effective (even if it helps, of course), whilst we're looking at Antony left to fend for himself and wondering if he can make it in the PL, let alone United.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Phil Foden isnt a guaranteed starter for City yet this guy is for us.

I mean away from Antony, Look at the way Rashford is treated at United, Foden would be a god at United.

 

[El Jefe]

Another understated flaw in his game is he’s only able to make passes on the ground. It severely limits the passes he’s able to make and emphasises his creativity issues.

The only time he attempts any form of pass that’s above ground level is when he crosses and he’s a horrendous crosser of the ball.

With runners like Rashford and Hojlund, he should be able to play the ball over the top for them to run in behind. I don’t think he’s ever done that since being here.

He’s an opposing fullback’s dream. Extremely predictable, limited and not fast or strong enough. It gets repeated every page but ETH was insane to want this guy. Moyes chasing Fellaini made far more sense, at least he was actually top class at the few qualities he was good at.

 

[Plant0x84]

I’d like to think he won’t start tomorrow, but I really can’t see ten Hag starting Pellistri, even though it was his persistence that created the opportunity for Bruno to score at the weekend. That mean playing either Bruno or Mount wide right which is about as effective as just playing Antony.
How Sancho is watching this shitshow and not begging and grovelling for his place back is beyond me. Says so much about the player and his ego. So I guess we are doomed to witness yet another pointless hour of Antony giving the ball away, shooting wildly over the bar and whinging to the ref/assaulting the opposition.

 

[USREDEVIL]

don't die on the antony hill erik. aint worth it. you gave him a shot but it didn't work out. get rid in summer

 

[Fortitude]

Another understated flaw in his game is he’s only able to make passes on the ground. It severely limits the passes he’s able to make and emphasises his creativity issues.

The only time he attempts any form of pass that’s above ground level is when he crosses and he’s a horrendous crosser of the ball.

With runners like Rashford and Hojlund, he should be able to play the ball over the top for them to run in behind. I don’t think he’s ever done that since being here.

He’s an opposing fullback’s dream. Extremely predictable, limited and not fast or strong enough. It gets repeated every page but ETH was insane to want this guy. Moyes chasing Fellaini made far more sense, at least he was actually top class at the few qualities he was good at.

About that. Again, I think he doesn't get enough time in the PL, and it severely affects his crossing. The crosses he put in at Ajax were levels above what we've seen in the PL. I know the reason why isn't relevant, per se, but the crossing we've seen isn't definitive of what he's produced in the past.

Him being so meek, and always so rushed in the final third, every technical release of the ball looks poor: scuffed, tame shots; poor, inaccurate crosses; misplaced short passes it's all for the same reason.

Problem for him is, as his mystique fades, the time afforded lessens, so if he was struggling for space/time before, it's only going to worsen as he loses the respect that buys that extra moment to do what you want with the ball.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

About that. Again, I think he doesn't get enough time in the PL, and it severely affects his crossing. The crosses he put in at Ajax were levels above what we've seen in the PL. I know the reason why isn't relevant, per se, but the crossing we've seen isn't definitive of what he's produced in the past.

Him being so meek, and always so rushed in the final third, every technical release of the ball looks poor: scuffed, tame shots; poor, inaccurate crosses; misplaced short passes it's all for the same reason.

Problem for him is, as his mystique fades, the time afforded lessens, so if he was struggling for space/time before, it's only going to worsen as he loses the respect that buys that extra moment to do what you want with the ball.

Yeah you simply can’t afford to be as little of a direct threat as he is unless you are a Juan Mata level technician to make up for it (which he isn’t). As you said otherwise you just won’t get any space to do anything other than lose the ball or meekly turn around and play it backwards which is mostly all he does now.

As much as I despise Antony as a player, I do think one easy improvement he could make is to really work hard in his attacking movements to create opportunities for him self off the ball. But he doesn’t really, it all tends to just be pretty static as if he demands The ball to be played to feet so he can stand up his man (which is the LAST thing he should be doing)

 

[atkar83]

There are shit players and then there's Antony, in a league of his own when it comes to shitness.

But luckily for him, no matter how shit he is he's still going to start every match possible until ETH is our manager.

I wasn't anti-Antony last year or even the start of this year. I thought our team looked more solid with him in it, he back tracked and showed a bit of skill here and there. But no, he's shit. I'm sick of seeing him throwing the thumbs up to the last person who past to him and he couldn't get to or control or do anything with. He's so useless on the attack.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I’m not sure what supreme talent Ten Hag saw in this guy. I get that based off his absolute best qualities could be seen as a useful player in a better league. But an 80 million player? Mind boggling. We need data driven analytics and a DoF overseeing the club vision to work with the manager rather than this free hand nonsense. The world has moved past that.

 

[Fortitude]

Yeah you simply can’t afford to be as little of a direct threat as he is unless you are a Juan Mata level technician to make up for it (which he isn’t). As you said otherwise you just won’t get any space to do anything other than lose the ball or meekly turn around and play it backwards which is mostly all he does now.

As much as I despise Antony as a player, I do think one easy improvement he could make is to really work hard in his attacking movements to create opportunities for him self off the ball. But he doesn’t really, it all tends to just be pretty static as if he demands The ball to be played to feet so he can stand up his man (which is the LAST thing he should be doing)

Imagine with Mazraoui-level full-back, simply standing still, given enough time, becomes threatening, as everyone on the pitch knows he's thundering forward on the over or underlap and all you've to do is hold your position and a world class option arrives. That simple lay off you then make looks like an immaculate part of a chained attack and you are immediately bought the time you need to make a secondary run, literally off the back (contingent) to the primary run of this Mazraoui-level player. Over time, really simple actions will build and you will look impressive and like you have very good decision making.

Take that Mazraoui-level full-back away, and Antony doing the same things looks lost and indecisive, especially when more often than not now, he'll be left having to go 1on1, or making a much tighter pass infield because nobody has provided a decoy run that opens easy passing lanes up. At Ajax, Antony didn't have to play as rushed as he does now and he didn't have to go 1on1; he couldn't be isolated with a full-back for very long because Ajax were the dominant team and spent the majority of their time swarming the opposition. Antony had his niche there and served a really useful purpose. He's got like a third of that use here as things stand.

I think it'll be incredibly difficult for him to unlearn a game he's reaped so much success from and had been executing since he got to Europe (?), I've never seen him in the Brasilero to comment on his game there, but I would not be in the least bit surprised if it followed the same principles, especially with their appreciation of the full-back's contribution to the attack.

Thing is, Antony should have a finite amount of time before others are given a go. I don't think it's right he gets to hog PT and others get hooked for weeks/months for games equally as bad as his. I also think this world class FB thing isn't just to his benefit as we have 3 wide playmakers at the club all of whom are RW's, and guess what? Said player would do wonders for the other two as well, and they are superior talents to Antony at base ends on top of that, so why should he be catered for in lieu of others?

 

[Jeffthered]

Rapidly becoming the new spacegoat

The guy is rubbish, and it's on ETH. He wanted him, he signed him and he plays him. So he has to sort it out. Antony will, eventually, score a goal, probably a good looking goal... the law of averages more than anything else suggest that he will do something, eventually... but he's rubbish. Obvious. We need to move on. Look at Jack Grealish at City.. he was ok last season, but Pep wanted to improve, with more pace, more power, more direct player. Look at Doku. And Grealish sits out, and now has to try and find his way back into the team. That's a proper club, a proper manager.

We are still debating whether Antony should play, if anything is wrong with him, bla bla bla. This isn't personal, the guy just isn't that good. Out on loan in January please (at the very least). He is a poor reflection of the standards at the club.

 

[Gordon Godot]

The guy is rubbish, and it's on ETH. He wanted him, he signed him and he plays him. So he has to sort it out. Antony will, eventually, score a goal, probably a good looking goal... the law of averages more than anything else suggest that he will do something, eventually... but he's rubbish. Obvious. We need to move on. Look at Jack Grealish at City.. he was ok last season, but Pep wanted to improve, with more pace, more power, more direct player. Look at Doku. And Grealish sits out, and now has to try and find his way back into the team. That's a proper club, a proper manager.

We are still debating whether Antony should play, if anything is wrong with him, bla bla bla. This isn't personal, the guy just isn't that good. Out on loan in January please (at the very least). He is a poor reflection of the standards at the club.

The lack of proper management at the top means we are clueless. We make terrible manager appointments, we are not ruthless with them, we overpay for players and then give them new contracts. A case study in waste and incompetence. I keep saying it, antony is awful and why ETH will get sacked sooner or later. His blind dependence on former players is a flaw that no top manager has,

 

[Dike_Manc]

One thing that is disturbing is talk of "playing himself into form". This guy is not good enough even on his very best day. Cut your losses and get rid. A serious waste of space.

 

[Toshey]

Against the narrative, I have a few positive observations.

Every game he manages to beat his man once or twice. Also every game he has 2-3 excellent passes forward. Usually manages to sidetrack 2 players and passes into good area, sharpening the attack. He seems to start kinda brightly and then after the first time he loses the ball, he dives into a hole.

It's not anywhere near good enough, but there is no doubt in my mind he CAN be effective. If he manages to provide his good moments consistently.

If PL is too much for him, he should go. But I see why any manager would give him a shot. Too bad it's not working and the price tag is insane.

 

[SteveCoppellFan]

I am not completely writing the guy off just yet.

He seems like he has some fight in him so I doubt he's just going to roll over and accept he's not good enough to play for a club like United.

This is his one big chance, I'm pretty sure he understands the situation and time is running out for him to succeed here.

Maybe at the end of the day, he is not quite good enough and so be it, but he would not be the first player to turn things around from a pretty crappy start.

 

[Sky1981]

I am not completely writing the guy off just yet.

He seems like he has some fight in him so I doubt he's just going to roll over and accept he's not good enough to play for a club like United.

This is his one big chance, I'm pretty sure he understands the situation and time is running out for him to succeed here.

Maybe at the end of the day, he is not quite good enough and so be it, but he would not be the first player to turn things around from a pretty crappy start.

You think to make it in this game all you need is fight?

You either have it by 22 or you dont. Will and determination can only take you so far

ETH should seriously be questioned on his judgement. He had trained with him in Ajax he should have known him inside out