I'm weak.
31
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Probably part of his recovery. Seems like his fitness levels are still not up there and he hardly plays 90mins anymore, seems knackered after 60mins
Man Utd 0:0 PSV
hes still on vction inhe? probably his worst performance n our jersey, his legs are completely gone, sub him off, let morgan anchor midfield alone, hes doing it anyway and fantastically well but basti goes missing, pereira on, it will never happen but still would hve been good sub in my view
He has no risk in his passing, so conservative. Sad to see.
I'll just keep repeating that he is no Paul Scholes. I might even add "not even close to" soon if he keeps up like this.
But I still like him, and he is not bad, I just expected much more from him.
But I still like him, and he is not bad, I just expected much more from him.
He can't be happy in himself. I won't be surprised if he retires at the end of this season, contract or no.
But replace him with Fellaini? WTF
Even in the first half he didn't look fit to me. Think we have to be realistic about how many games he can play.
Swapping and subbing him and Carrick was working earlier in the season as it kept them both fresh and meant they both didnt play 90 minutes each game.
However today, we lost control of the game as soon as he went off (and fellaini came on for him). We pretty much only created once chance when he went off, we couldnt pass the ball at all. It was like we lost a leader.
Basti himself though, he looks like he struggles to run or goes out drinking the night before, not sure what it is.
However today, we lost control of the game as soon as he went off (and fellaini came on for him). We pretty much only created once chance when he went off, we couldnt pass the ball at all. It was like we lost a leader.
Basti himself though, he looks like he struggles to run or goes out drinking the night before, not sure what it is.
He looks completely knackered and it's not as if he even plays 90 minutes in most games.
When we bought him I honestly thought he'd play a lot less than he has, he looks knackered to me.
Yeah he is struggling physically. Although we were clearly worse when he went off so he was contributing positively in some regard. Really need Carrick to be fit so the two can rotate and keep each other fresh.
It's weird isn't it, when he's on he doesn't do much but then as soon as he goes off everything turns to complete shit. We go from pointless possession to running around chasing shadows unable to keep possesion.
Agree with you, I thought it was really noticeable when he went off. I thought Schneiderlin had a (rare) poor game.
He's very underrated in our team, he dictates the game without anybody (apart from United fans) noticing. Top class German international.
Never rated him as an upper tier technician, even at his peak. Scholes was much better in my opinion.
Give over, he slows the play down every time the ball comes to him.
He reminds me of robbo in his final days, a little overweight, slow and just plodding about the pitch.
It's not weird at all.
The way I see it, even when he's poor (and I didn't think he was great today) at least he goes around the pitch actually demanding the ball... thus, everyone in the team knows they have at least one person they can definitely pass it too and we don't look quite as stagnant. When he's not there, and Carrick, Herrera and Mata also aren't there, this becomes even more apparent... people barely even want the ball, let alone demand it. Schneiderlin shits himself because he has nobody to defer too and everything goes down the pan.
He does look unfit, but there's a sense of control of possession when he's in the team, similar to when Scholes was in the team (albeit without the quality of passing that Scholes had). We got worse tonight when Schwinny was taken off.
I agree. Physically he doesn't have it in him to play so frequently, and technically, I don't think his passing abilities have been that high.
About 5 mins into the 2nd half I had seen him 3 times hiding and tell players not to give him the ball, he was fecked, pointless having him on the pitch, looked like he was trying to direct things, but don't give me the ball, Scholes at 35 was far more energetic and effective, he was eventually hauled off. The Watford game, he came alive after they scored, looked like he pushed himself beyond his boundaries, he drove it, gave the ball away then drove on to get it back, effectively scored the goal, it was defo his biggest influence on a match since he signed, it was like he pushed himself one last time, but he is nothing to be relied upon.
Its remarkable that he just turned 31 a couple months back, you'd think it was 41 the way people go on.
Of course we are going to look worse when he is taken off and replaced by Fellaini, even a shit Schweinsteiger is better than Fellaini, replace him with any half competent midfielder and it would be a different story. Schweinsteiger keeps the ball but he does absolutely nothing with it.
Of course we are going to look worse when he is taken off and replaced by Fellaini, even a shit Schweinsteiger is better than Fellaini, replace him with any half competent midfielder and it would be a different story. Schweinsteiger keeps the ball but he does absolutely nothing with it.
You mean deferring the most touches and passes of any player? What about those 17 long balls, did he defer those too? He also tried to play to feet to Martial and Rooney plenty of times today, especially in the first half. If anyone was deferring in the midfield it sure as hell wasn't Schneiderlin.
He's definitely played too much. We need to sign a proper starting box to box CM this summer, sell Fellaini and let Schweinsteiger rest a lot more than he does. He'll be coming off the Euros too, which only strengthens the case for that.
I think he plays at his best he currently can but his lack of physical form is hindering to find his best form. Not sure if his fitness levels can be improved
His lack of shape robs him of his best qualities. You can see he's lacking confidence and sticking to the basics. Without a winter break I don't think this is something that can be fixed before the summer. Needs to lose a few pounds, too. There's no way he'll be able to retain his captaincy in the German national team in this condition, he'll struggle to make the bench.
I also think that resorting to using a non-footballer like Fellaini is testament to the fact that we still have a long way to go. Should never be near a United side, so limited.
I also think that resorting to using a non-footballer like Fellaini is testament to the fact that we still have a long way to go. Should never be near a United side, so limited.
Call me an imbecile but I genuinely think Van Gaal is the thing holding Bastian back. He did not look past it at the weekend when we were chasing a winner. The sideways, super cautious passing is clearly a tactical instruction. Bastian does not play like this for Germany. Yes, he plays a controlled game but he's not always looking for a five yard ball. Its clear that Van Gaal does not like his centre midfielders going forward or taking risks, we've seen that with his hatred of using Herrera in a deeper role. The way Bastian is playing simply reflects the careful methods of our manager. We won't see the best out of Basti until Van Gaal either takes off the handbrake or takes off out of Man Utd.
Hopefully he does that in January and rests him quite a lot in the 2nd half of the season. We need Schweini fit at the Euros
It's actually funny. Schweinsteiger was heavily criticised in van Gaal's second season for the same reasons. Many fans and pundits constantly talked about how Schweinsteiger is holding Bayern back with his lack of directness and that he shouldn't start for the nationalteam anymore. Somehow that view changed a lot during the two years under Heynckes. Don't get me wrong, van Gaal deserves a lot of credit for turning Schweinsteiger into a brilliant CM and I'm very thankful for it. But Schweinsteiger's influence was a lot bigger under Löw (especially at the World Cup 2010, where he was in my opinion the best CM of the tournament ahead of Xavi) and under Heynckes.
Still, he should do more. I'm not sure if he still struggles physically and it affects his passing, but it really looks a bit off and with his experience he should make the difference in transition to attack more often during games. He looks way too happy to play it easy and safe for large parts of games, it's not good enough if he wants to help this United side to win trophies.
As a Bayern fan you should know what happens when you try to do 'more' in midfield under Van Gaal: you get dropped. Just look at how Van Gaal has handled Ander Herrera. If Basti looks happy to play it safe its because he knows his crazy manager will be happy with that.
Just ask yourself this: If Jupp Heynckes was manager of Man Utd, and not Van Gaal, would Basti be playing like this? I think we both know the answer.
Last night was the latest when this happened but it has happened this season before. But I guess LVG had no chance but taking him off - he looked very very tired.
One memory of the match I have is from the first half. Basti gets the ball in midfield and immediately looks up for an option. Rooney, almost inexplicably, starts running further away from him with BFS calling out for someone to come closer for a pass. Seems like instructions to midfielders and attackers could not be more different.
Yeah, it's utterly, utterly bizarre.
Looked tired last night but we fell apart (as we always do) when he went off. That's happened damn near every time he's went off mid-game.
I also do wonder how much influence LVG's strategy is having on how conservative his play is.
I also do wonder how much influence LVG's strategy is having on how conservative his play is.
BFS, Bastian 'Fatigued' Schweinsteiger.
You mean those 17 long balls - around 60% of which he was succesful with? and all the good ones came in the first half? A first half where Schweinsteiger was next to him?
Schneiderlin does not go around demanding the ball in the same way or with the same authority that either Carrick or Schweinsteiger do. However, when they're next to him, he's generally more then happy to take the ball as he knows there's that bloke next to him who will, more often then not, want the ball off him... and then, like last night, when Bastian isn't having a great game and/or not taking up positions to recieve the ball due to being knackered, it forces Schneiderlin to actually use his passing range when he has the ball and (eventually) try and knock it long/play an adventurous pass - which he is more then capable of doing.
Then you have the second half, in which Schneiderlin didn't have Schweinsteiger next to him, and his performance rapidly detriorated. It was alsmost as if, because he knew that he didn't have a Schweinsteiger or a Carrick along side him, he didn't have the confidence to take the ball and make things happen himself. Look at how much more time Smalling and Blind were spending on the ball in the second half due to having no outlet in midfield - and the increase in long balls that the both of them had to play.
Yeah, blame van Gaal. In his post match he said the midfielders was not supporting the forwards enough, it's not like LvG tell them to always play safe. I also remember a few long balls from Schweini which didn't come off, he only have himself to blame for that performance.
Yeah Schneiderlin In particular seems to have a drop off in performance whenever Schweinsteiger isn't there. Then again if I received the ball looked up and saw marouane fellaini as my passing option id lose my mind too.
Heynckes would play a bit different in general, but I don't think it's a good excuse for Schweinsteiger being a bit underwhelming so far.
That would be the adjustment I would make as well, Bastian still has plenty to offer but needs to be used more sparingly and at times we'd benefit from having him in a 3 man midfield rather than double pivot.
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