[Adnan]

I didn't mean about this game. I was talking in general

I still stand by what I said at the end of last season where imo we need to become a little bit more proactive as a collective unit and combine a quick direct style with a semblance of control in possession. And below is a copy and paste of one of my posts from last season where I gave my opinion on Antony and how a evolution in our play style will bring out the best in players like Antony and even Martinez, whose in possession game will be even more pronounced.

Post of mine from April 2023:
"If you can't effectively progress play from the first phase it will effect the attacking players because there won't be overload potential hence there will be a lack of combination play. So by default we resort to a transitional game which suits players like Rashford and Bruno who looks for the killer pass at every opportunity. But Antony was still good considering the short comings of the collective as a unit and how we were setup to transition quickly with the press and counter press still not a strong feature in our play compared to our rivals. With a defensive line being amongst the lowest in the league."

"Upgrades in goal, RB and central midfield will get us closer to becoming a more proactive compact team with potential to better control games. And the likes of Antony and especially Martinez, will be better utilised in possession due to their ability on the ball. And Antony is already very good out of possession, which is of huge importance in the game today with teams looking to aggressively press higher up the pitch."


We've got the GK who has the potential to help us control both the offensive and defensive transitions with and without the ball due to him being much more proactive in general compared to De Gea. And if we can add a first phase midfielder who can raise the technical security in our defensive third then we should see a more varied approach to our play instead of it being heavily centred around being a bit too direct at the moment. So if we can sign a Amrabat and maybe a RB aswell, then that would be a really good window imo. Maybe asking for a RB is too much but we live in hope.

And when you create a team where you have technically strong players in the first phase like Pasveer in goal and Timber - Mazraoui on the right side supporting Antony in a team that is looking to be proactive in possession. Then the result is seen below, where Antony causes a Erling Haaland led Dortmund huge problems in the UCL both in transition and when combining with the likes of Mazraoui, Timber etc on the right side with Martinez's long diagonal also a huge weapon.

 

[RussellWilson]

As a counterpoint to the criticism, this is quite a valuable quality.

He's press resistant but pretty useless when he kills every attack by being so slow at any decision making and having an awful final pass.

 

[Snow]

Oh sure, I rarely criticize him for fecking up basic stuff because he doesn't do it often. He just lacks any sort of decisive threat to his game which is why I'm so harsh on him. You can't have an 80m nailed on starting RW that is poor both in front of goal, and in creating chances for others. It's going to be a dark mark on the team sheet eventually if the rest of the players around him continue improving.

We still haven't really seen him play with a striker is the problem. You only have so any options when you have the ball on the wing. Just crossing it is what defenders want you to do. Only teams with the likes of Mitrovic can put in a cross and expect the forward to get on the end of it.

I do think he is good for the system we play and that he is able to take part in opening up the opposition for a pass through on goal but his problem is the finishing. That last pass or don't hit often enough. Same with Sancho. I don't think it's something you dismiss as of now though. If those passes hit more often we'll see significant improvement in our goal scoring.

 

[SAF is the GOAT]

How did he miss in front of goal with his right foot while no one to prevent him from scoring

 

[Red in STL]

Why is he so bad 1v1? For all his trickery and flicks, he can't beat a bloody fullback. This is what frustrates me the most about Anthony. Hell, even nothing players like Almiron and Jared Bowen are capable of beating fullbacks.

He has no incentive to beat his man, he could do it every time and there's nobody to pass to, he's basically just moving the ball up the field and retaining possession, once we have a #9 playing I think we'll see him take on more 1v1's because if he beats his man he'll have a focal point to aim for

 

[sglowrider]

 

[Borys]

I still stand by what I said at the end of last season where imo we need to become a little bit more proactive as a collective unit and combine a quick direct style with a semblance of control in possession. And below is a copy and paste of one of my posts from last season where I gave my opinion on Antony and how a evolution in our play style will bring out the best in players like Antony and even Martinez, whose in possession game will be even more pronounced.

Post of mine from April 2023:
"If you can't effectively progress play from the first phase it will effect the attacking players because there won't be overload potential hence there will be a lack of combination play. So by default we resort to a transitional game which suits players like Rashford and Bruno who looks for the killer pass at every opportunity. But Antony was still good considering the short comings of the collective as a unit and how we were setup to transition quickly with the press and counter press still not a strong feature in our play compared to our rivals. With a defensive line being amongst the lowest in the league."

"Upgrades in goal, RB and central midfield will get us closer to becoming a more proactive compact team with potential to better control games. And the likes of Antony and especially Martinez, will be better utilised in possession due to their ability on the ball. And Antony is already very good out of possession, which is of huge importance in the game today with teams looking to aggressively press higher up the pitch."


We've got the GK who has the potential to help us control both the offensive and defensive transitions with and without the ball due to him being much more proactive in general compared to De Gea. And if we can add a first phase midfielder who can raise the technical security in our defensive third then we should see a more varied approach to our play instead of it being heavily centred around being a bit too direct at the moment. So if we can sign a Amrabat and maybe a RB aswell, then that would be a really good window imo. Maybe asking for a RB is too much but we live in hope.

And when you create a team where you have technically strong players in the first phase like Pasveer in goal and Timber - Mazraoui on the right side supporting Antony in a team that is looking to be proactive in possession. Then the result is seen below, where Antony causes a Erling Haaland led Dortmund huge problems in the UCL both in transition and when combining with the likes of Mazraoui, Timber etc on the right side with Martinez's long diagonal also a huge weapon.

TBH this is exactly the player we got at United.

 

[Salfordlad70]

He obviously has a lot to improve on and maybe lacks that yard of electric pace, but he has the tenacity and tools to be a very good player. Whether its the fee or nationality or modern world demanding instant success.....think the criticism of him has been harsh and a lot of it wrong.

Personally, I think he is going to surprise a lot of the doom merchants and haters of him this season. He is good presssing, press resistant, has good viosion (that he failed to use so well last season), a good left foot, links up well.

See some posts saying "no striker" isnt an excuse for his performances he often played the wrong pass. Though I think that was the case, I think having a proper link up , pacey striker....will improve him.

My big criticism of him last season was that he tried to entertain (not a bad thing) rather than doing the fundamentals and simple things, a bit like an early Ronaldo. Not saying he will be a Ronaldo before people jump on the comment.....but I expect a good season from him this year and he needs its as there is competition now

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying here. I think we’ll get much more from him this season and the comparisons to a very young Ronaldo are spot on. He’ll never be anything close to a peak Ronaldo, but there’s a very good player in there and I’m really hoping we’ll see that develop.

He Drives me nuts at times, but I quite like him. I hope he listens to the coaches and develops.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

People keep saying he needs a striker for us to get the better of him but I’d argue an RB is what will have the most impact . Looking at the highlight @Adnan posted, he and Mazroui have a very understanding relationship that helps create chances on the right side. We don’t have a right back that’s as good attack as Mazroui

 

[RedStarUnited]

He has no incentive to beat his man, he could do it every time and there's nobody to pass to, he's basically just moving the ball up the field and retaining possession, once we have a #9 playing I think we'll see him take on more 1v1's because if he beats his man he'll have a focal point to aim for

Erm what!!! You are joking right?

 

[tomaldinho1]

People keep saying he needs a striker for us to get the better of him but I’d argue an RB is what will have the most impact . Looking at the highlight @Adnan posted, he and Mazroui have a very understanding relationship that helps create chances on the right side. We don’t have a right back that’s as good attack as Mazroui

Whenever there's an opposite footed winger the overlapping full back is very important, we actually have it on both sides now but you can see the difference in offensive quality between Shaw and AWB/Dalot. I think we'll see one of RBs really kick on this season and become a clear 1st choice and think Antony will have a decent season (if he doesn't mount will shift across and play RW).

 

[RedStarUnited]

I still stand by what I said at the end of last season where imo we need to become a little bit more proactive as a collective unit and combine a quick direct style with a semblance of control in possession. And below is a copy and paste of one of my posts from last season where I gave my opinion on Antony and how a evolution in our play style will bring out the best in players like Antony and even Martinez, whose in possession game will be even more pronounced.

Post of mine from April 2023:
"If you can't effectively progress play from the first phase it will effect the attacking players because there won't be overload potential hence there will be a lack of combination play. So by default we resort to a transitional game which suits players like Rashford and Bruno who looks for the killer pass at every opportunity. But Antony was still good considering the short comings of the collective as a unit and how we were setup to transition quickly with the press and counter press still not a strong feature in our play compared to our rivals. With a defensive line being amongst the lowest in the league."

"Upgrades in goal, RB and central midfield will get us closer to becoming a more proactive compact team with potential to better control games. And the likes of Antony and especially Martinez, will be better utilised in possession due to their ability on the ball. And Antony is already very good out of possession, which is of huge importance in the game today with teams looking to aggressively press higher up the pitch."


We've got the GK who has the potential to help us control both the offensive and defensive transitions with and without the ball due to him being much more proactive in general compared to De Gea. And if we can add a first phase midfielder who can raise the technical security in our defensive third then we should see a more varied approach to our play instead of it being heavily centred around being a bit too direct at the moment. So if we can sign a Amrabat and maybe a RB aswell, then that would be a really good window imo. Maybe asking for a RB is too much but we live in hope.

And when you create a team where you have technically strong players in the first phase like Pasveer in goal and Timber - Mazraoui on the right side supporting Antony in a team that is looking to be proactive in possession. Then the result is seen below, where Antony causes a Erling Haaland led Dortmund huge problems in the UCL both in transition and when combining with the likes of Mazraoui, Timber etc on the right side with Martinez's long diagonal also a huge weapon.

You cant have watched that video and thought “yeah this was a good performance” surely. All the hallmark of his United career so far are in there.

He scored a nice goal, but theres a lot more bad in that video than good for me.

• He misses that chance at the beginning that he should score
• Another 1-1 is ruined later because he takes a bad touch then attempts an even worse shot
• All the crosses in this clip are bad
• Loads of dispossessions

The guy at this moment in time isnt that good. I just really hope theres a big improvement this year especially in his creativity.

 

[Red in STL]

Erm what!!! You are joking right?

Not entirely, he's quite often the furthest player forward, if he beats his man down the line he ends up effectively boxed in with few options, it's one of the reasons he cuts in as much as he does

 

[RedStarUnited]

Not entirely, he's quite often the furthest player forward, if he beats his man down the line he ends up effectively boxed in with few options, it's one of the reasons he cuts in as much as he does

Weghorst played a lot last season. Its not like Antony was creating chances galore for him to miss was it. A 20 year old striker isnt going to be the reason Antony improves, he himself needs to do major improvements in his play too.

 

[Adnan]

You cant have watched that video and thought “yeah this was a good performance” surely. All the hallmark of his United career so far are in there.

He scored a nice goal, but theres a lot more bad in that video than good for me.

• He misses that chance at the beginning that he should score
• Another 1-1 is ruined later because he takes a bad touch then attempts an even worse shot
• All the crosses in this clip are bad
• Loads of dispossessions

The guy at this moment in time isnt that good. I just really hope theres a big improvement this year especially in his creativity.

I watched both games against Dortmund and evaluated Antony's performance within the system which centred around dominating the game from back to front. Something we've never come close to replicating post Fergie.

I don't look at individuality but rather how the individual helps us get closer to becoming a more proactive attacking team with a high technical floor.

Like the tweet below states, the goal is to move the opponent rather than move the ball. And in the game in question, Antony played his role superbly well both in and out of possession where Ajax dominated the game in all phases of play by disrupting Dortmund's flow high up the pitch and also dominated the build up phase where Dortmund's high press was easily bypassed by Ajax's first phase players due to their higher technical level.

Antony contributed reality well in both helping to disrupt high up the pitch via his out of possession game and also connected and combined reality well with the first phase players to help create numerical superiorities in possession. And the result is that you will exert control and suffocate the opponent in such a way, that players like Haaland aren't as big of a threat.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Big season coming up for him. Needs to step up.

 

[sherrinford]

I watched both games against Dortmund and evaluated Antony's performance within the system which centred around dominating the game from back to front. Something we've never come close to replicating post Fergie.

I don't look at individuality but rather how the individual helps us get closer to becoming a more proactive attacking team with a high technical floor.

Like the tweet below states, the goal is to move the opponent rather than move the ball. And in the game in question, Antony played his role superbly well both in and out of possession where Ajax dominated the game in all phases of play by disrupting Dortmund's flow high up the pitch and also dominated the build up phase where Dortmund's high press was easily bypassed by Ajax's first phase players due to their higher technical level.

Antony contributed reality well in both helping to disrupt high up the pitch via his out of possession game and also connected and combined reality well with the first phase players to help create numerical superiorities in possession. And the result is that you will exert control and suffocate the opponent in such a way, that players like Haaland aren't as big of a threat.

He can hold the width on that right side but does not offer penetration himself - he needs runners around him. An effective overlapping fullback is what Antony needs (as does both Sancho and Amad). Hojlund running the right channel would help too.

 

[AjaxCunian]

I watched both games against Dortmund and evaluated Antony's performance within the system which centred around dominating the game from back to front. Something we've never come close to replicating post Fergie.

I don't look at individuality but rather how the individual helps us get closer to becoming a more proactive attacking team with a high technical floor.

Like the tweet below states, the goal is to move the opponent rather than move the ball. And in the game in question, Antony played his role superbly well both in and out of possession where Ajax dominated the game in all phases of play by disrupting Dortmund's flow high up the pitch and also dominated the build up phase where Dortmund's high press was easily bypassed by Ajax's first phase players due to their higher technical level.

Antony contributed reality well in both helping to disrupt high up the pitch via his out of possession game and also connected and combined reality well with the first phase players to help create numerical superiorities in possession. And the result is that you will exert control and suffocate the opponent in such a way, that players like Haaland aren't as big of a threat.

Good old times.

 

[Adnan]

He can hold the width on that right side but does not offer penetration himself - he needs runners around him. An effective overlapping fullback is what Antony needs (as does both Sancho and Amad). Hojlund running the right channel would help too.

Agreed.

We need to play higher up the pitch with Onana and potentially Amrabat helping us in that regard. And I don't think we'll be signing a RB, so I'm hoping we see improvement from Dalot.

But next season we need to target a RB and RCB imo. With the RCB at SCP (Diomande) looking like a standout candidate.

 

[AjaxCunian]

Agreed.

We need to play higher up the pitch with Onana and potentially Amrabat helping us in that regard. And I don't think we'll be signing a RB, so I'm hoping we see improvement from Dalot.

But next season we need to target a RB and RCB imo. With the RCB at SCP (Diomande) looking like a standout candidate.

How do you see Shaw's future in EtH's preferred XI?

 

[Adnan]

How do you see Shaw's future in EtH's preferred XI?

I think for the now and mid-term he's a important part of the team, especially in the build up phase. He's also shown his versatility where he can provide cover at LCB at a good level.

So he's someone who provides solutions for a coach like ten Hag right now and I think the reconstruction of the team will include Shaw for the next few years at least and beyond that it will depend on how Shaw looks after his body to prolong his longevity at the top of the game.

 

[Jeffthered]

Big season coming up for him. Needs to step up.

Don't hold your breath with this lad. He's a limited player. I expect the same as he delivered last season. A few, albeit predictably good looking goals, a lot of unnecessary drama and histrionics.

But he isn't what Manchester United FC need to take us back to the next level. I really cannot fault much of what ETH has done since his arrival, but I really, genuinely, question this signing. Antony is an average footballer. And please do not say 'he is an international..' etc etc. as that is increasingly meaningless as a benchmark.

I'm just being real.

 

[JuriM]

Don't hold your breath with this lad. He's a limited player. I expect the same as he delivered last season. A few, albeit predictably good looking goals, a lot of unnecessary drama and histrionics.

But he isn't what Manchester United FC need to take us back to the next level. I really cannot fault much of what ETH has done since his arrival, but I really, genuinely, question this signing. Antony is an average footballer. And please do not say 'he is an international..' etc etc. as that is increasingly meaningless as a benchmark.

Antony is class and you know nothing about football.

 

[Jeffthered]

Antony is class and you know nothing about football.

Well, we can always agree to disagree. It's all good.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

@Jeffthered my hope is that Hojlund’s movement / runs in the box help Antony.

Hope to see some tap in goals, if Antony can learn to drill it across the mouth of goal for Hojlund.

A proper striker should help our wide players.

 

[shabadu84]

@Jeffthered my hope is that Hojlund’s movement / runs in the box help Antony.

Hope to see some tap in goals, if Antony can learn to drill it across the mouth of goal for Hojlund.

A proper striker should help our wide players.

It was obvious on many occasions that Antony or Rashford would sometimes choose to shoot rather than pass to Weghorst. Obviously they're both not shy to go for goal but the lack of faith in Weghorst was palpable by the end of the season.

 

[Isotope]

@Jeffthered my hope is that Hojlund’s movement / runs in the box help Antony.

Hope to see some tap in goals, if Antony can learn to drill it across the mouth of goal for Hojlund.

A proper striker should help our wide players.

I don't know. Every time we had breaks in games, and if the ball falls into Antony to make final decision, I always expected him to make wrong decision. It's not much to do with striker. He's just not a very creative player.

But hopefully he'll get Nani's break out season, and everything falls into right places.

 

[AjaxCunian]

I think for the now and mid-term he's a important part of the team, especially in the build up phase. He's also shown his versatility where he can provide cover at LCB at a good level.

So he's someone who provides solutions for a coach like ten Hag right now and I think the reconstruction of the team will include Shaw for the next few years at least and beyond that it will depend on how Shaw looks after his body to prolong his longevity at the top of the game.

Cheers!

 

[TheRedHearted]

No chance. Man went 7 months between league goals last season.

All he’s gotta do is aim lower!

 

[RDCR07]

I think the bar is so low with him that I’d be surprised if he scored 6-7 goals and assisted a further 6-8 goals. If he can’t even get close to 15 goal involvements, we need to bite the bullet and cut our losses.

 

[El Jefe]

I don't know. Every time we had breaks in games, and if the ball falls into Antony to make final decision, I always expected him to make wrong decision. It's not much to do with striker. He's just not a very creative player.

But hopefully he'll get Nani's break out season, and everything falls into right places.

Blaming the striker is the go to, I've seen the RB and hilariously our RCB also for why we're not getting the best out of him.

Funny the same people don't question if our other strikers or attackers can blame Antony for their lack of goals when he barely creates.

Last season was some of the worst crossing I've seen from a United player in years but somehow he's magically going to start putting in pinpoint crosses. Alexander-Arnold broke the fullback assist record crossing to Mane and Jota. Crossing is much more about accuracy than height.

 

[Bebestation]

Antony is a cowboy.

All he is - is a deadly shot.

He needs to perfect his best asset, his shot & then he becomes more deadly.

If he perfected his shot - then all everyone else has to do is to make runs around him that opens up his chance to take the shot & hit the target.

 

[Trex]

Antony is a cowboy.

All he is - is a deadly shot.

He needs to perfect his best asset, his shot & then he becomes more deadly.

If he perfected his shot - then all everyone else has to do is to make runs around him that opens up his chance to take the shot & hit the target.

No one scores that many goals from long rangers. He needs to learn to set up teammates, the sort of reverse pass he gave Casemiro once last season. He also needs to improve his movement in terms of arriving at the back post.
And then his decision making during fast breaks are at the moment terrible, he needs to stop being so tunnel visioned and learn to access his options, that alone will boost his g/a.

 

[Bebestation]

No one scores that many goals from long rangers. He needs to learn to set up teammates, the sort of reverse pass he gave Casemiro once last season. He also needs to improve his movement in terms of arriving at the back post.
And then his decision making during fast breaks are at the moment terrible, he needs to stop being so tunnel visioned and learn to access his options, that alone will boost his g/a.

Interestingly Hojlund has arguably been bought here to set up players like Rashford & Antony and not the other way around.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

I think the bar is so low with him that I’d be surprised if he scored 6-7 goals and assisted a further 6-8 goals. If he can’t even get close to 15 goal involvements, we need to bite the bullet and cut our losses.

I'll bet you £100 that he has 15 or more goal involvments next season.

 

[Yandhi]

How many shots has he missed this preseason? Love Antony but his shooting hasn't improved at all, and his decision making close to goal is still so raw at times. And he's been working with Ten Hag for years now which makes it even more worrying.

 

[E-mal]

This is one signing that I don't just see it.

 

[flameinthesun]

This is one signing that I don't just see it.

Needs to step his game up big time, had a decent first season for me but has to step up.

 

[r0663664]

Sorry, Antony is a one trick pony. He cannot take on players, he cannot shoot with his right, he cannot cross from his right, he always cut back to RB or midfield. ETH really made a huge mistake signing him when there are better cheaper options.

 

[Idxomer]

For all of Sancho's faults, I could sometimes see some of the qualities that made him cost 72m.

I can never say the same for Antony with his 86m fee.