[Amar__]

He is either done, or in completely bad form, probably worst in his life. But he looks really weak/non existant in duels, and that's the biggest concern. I think Mata looked far stronger when he was done at top level, which is a concern even for a squad player going forward.

 

[Onerealunited]

Hi has his strengtes and as it seems he would be a perfect backup player or a plan B to change the game when needed

 

[Hester_manc]

I think he was important today. He did not create big chances, but he made so many right decisions and was central for our play through the midfield.

 

[edcunited1878]

I think he was important today. He did not create big chances, but he made so many right decisions and was central for our play through the midfield.

If you put Neves in Eriksen's role for United, it would be much less of a traffic cone in transition. There's a reason why EtH held out for so long for FdJ even after getting assurances from Eriksen as a free and the quiet deal completed for Casemiro.

He wasn't intended to be used this frequently until it became clear CM was not going to be upgraded after signing Antony and Lisandro.

 

[NickJ]

Never seen a player lose so many 70/30 tackles in his favour as he did today. Should only be a rotation player for comfortable home games or to rest players next season. Mile off the pace.

 

[Hester_manc]

If you put Neves in Eriksen's role for United, it would be much less of a traffic cone in transition. There's a reason why EtH held out for so long for FdJ even after getting assurances from Eriksen as a free and the quiet deal completed for Casemiro.

He wasn't intended to be used this frequently until it became clear CM was not going to be upgraded after signing Antony and Lisandro.

He was used in that position in Inter and Brentford too, so who knows what the intentions were?

 

[edcunited1878]

He was used in that position in Inter and Brentford too, so who knows what the intentions were?

Inter wasn't his best time and was bit part in a slower league in a well rounded team.

At Brentford, he was the creative outlet and had freedom to roam around and they kept their shape really well around him.

With United playing 2 mids and w CBs, the center mids have a lot of responsibility and ground to be aware of. If his positioning is slightly off, he doesn't have the recovery speed nor power to ride challenges anymore.

 

[Sylar]

If you put Neves in Eriksen's role for United, it would be much less of a traffic cone in transition. There's a reason why EtH held out for so long for FdJ even after getting assurances from Eriksen as a free and the quiet deal completed for Casemiro.

He wasn't intended to be used this frequently until it became clear CM was not going to be upgraded after signing Antony and Lisandro.

Whilst I agree we need a CM (one of three problem positions imo), I think we gotta look at our squad too. Eriksen brings more of a consistency than others in that position. Generally his passing is better than Fred, McT and anybody else who would play in his position from the choices we have.
Fred is a bit of an enigma and he seems to thrive more when he can run with the ball and its second half against opposition who have been on more so. (of course its not always the case cos he might have a stinker himself)

One thing Eriksen does is he can get it to Bruno to work his magic, and can do it early. Eriksen/Bruno/Casemiro has been our best midfield three this season by a mile.

 

[edcunited1878]

Whilst I agree we need a CM (one of three problem positions imo), I think we gotta look at our squad too. Eriksen brings more of a consistency than others in that position. Generally his passing is better than Fred, McT and anybody else who would play in his position from the choices we have.
Fred is a bit of an enigma and he seems to thrive more when he can run with the ball and its second half against opposition who have been on more so. (of course its not always the case cos he might have a stinker himself)

One thing Eriksen does is he can get it to Bruno to work his magic, and can do it early. Eriksen/Bruno/Casemiro has been our best midfield three this season by a mile.

Yep, totally agree with you and understand where you're coming from.

I believe that is another 3 points when that trio start a match for United. West Ham was a rare match where they lost when they started.

It's been a long while since United had a midfield duo and trio of high level ability, yet it can be improved upon with more continuity, consistency, and a quality depth player.

 

[NoPace]

If you put Neves in Eriksen's role for United, it would be much less of a traffic cone in transition. There's a reason why EtH held out for so long for FdJ even after getting assurances from Eriksen as a free and the quiet deal completed for Casemiro.

He wasn't intended to be used this frequently until it became clear CM was not going to be upgraded after signing Antony and Lisandro.

Neves moves like a cone. We do need a more mobile option at #8 though, and at some point Bruno is going to miss some games and Eriksen will get time as a #10. Also brilliant option to bring off the bench. But I think Neves-Casemiro might be the slowest midfield pairing a non-Burnley team has used in recent memory.

 

[Lyng]

Whilst I agree we need a CM (one of three problem positions imo), I think we gotta look at our squad too. Eriksen brings more of a consistency than others in that position. Generally his passing is better than Fred, McT and anybody else who would play in his position from the choices we have.
Fred is a bit of an enigma and he seems to thrive more when he can run with the ball and its second half against opposition who have been on more so. (of course its not always the case cos he might have a stinker himself)

One thing Eriksen does is he can get it to Bruno to work his magic, and can do it early. Eriksen/Bruno/Casemiro has been our best midfield three this season by a mile.

Spot on. And thats why midfield should be a priority this summer.

 

[CM]

He looks like he's almost ready for Turkey, and I'm not just saying that because of the hairline.

 

[King7Eric]

He is either done, or in completely bad form, probably worst in his life. But he looks really weak/non existant in duels, and that's the biggest concern. I think Mata looked far stronger when he was done at top level, which is a concern even for a squad player going forward.

His remarkable story of returning to play at the highest level has blinkered people's views of his actual level. This is a guy who was not getting into Inter Milan's starting line ups.

He's always been a good player, but he's not elite and not someone who's gonna be part of a title winning midfield. He was fine as a free transfer in a season we needed to move away from McFred but I think it's always been clear if we really want to compete at the top, he needs to be replaced in the starting line up.

 

[Zico1982]

His remarkable story of returning to play at the highest level has blinkered people's views of his actual level. This is a guy who was not getting into Inter Milan's starting line ups.

He's always been a good player, but he's not elite and not someone who's gonna be part of a title winning midfield. He was fine as a free transfer in a season we needed to move away from McFred but I think it's always been clear if we really want to compete at the top, he needs to be replaced in the starting line up.

His actual level is crap, but then again. He is not alone at being bad right now. The starting 11 is either injured or overplayed at this point in the season due to lack of depth for rotating. Eriksens level at Brentford and the first half of the season here was really good. The Inter story is also not as black and white as you tell it. The benching of Eriksen was annoying the hell out of the Interistis who screamed for Conte to play him. It was a system thing. Conte wanted more of a ballwinner in his position. It is much the same story as here. Eriksen was playing CM and not being the defensive beast of Contes dreams. He was bringing other things to the table though in form of control and creativity. Those were winning crucial games. At some point, even Conte could not keep him on the bench. Eriksen played a big role in that scudetto, which was also acknowledged by Conte. He was also very good in the first half of this season. Then came Andy Carroll. Right now he is simply not in form. Is that gonna change? Propably, but noone knows. I really did´nt like his performance in the last two games, so I would be fine with him starting on the bench. The problem is the alternatives. Fred did a super cameo yesterday but has often been abysmal coming on as well. Even in this form, Eriksen finds Bruno, and that brings points in the bank. If he (and Casemiro) regains form, I still love our midfield trio. We do need competition for Eriksen, Casemiro and Bruno. I would send McT, DvB and Sabitzer off. Fred is a good option for certain types of situations like yesterday. Players like Rabiot, Thielemans, Gravenbech, Höjbjerg or Maddison would bring us depth and needed competition. Bring in two of those.

 

[edcunited1878]

Neves moves like a cone. We do need a more mobile option at #8 though, and at some point Bruno is going to miss some games and Eriksen will get time as a #10. Also brilliant option to bring off the bench. But I think Neves-Casemiro might be the slowest midfield pairing a non-Burnley team has used in recent memory.

Neves is not a cone compared to Eriksen and has much more bite to him.

But he's not the standard, more of a comparison from yesterday and the fact that Neves can pass a bit and shoot.

The lack of reasonable, quality depth really limited EtH and United, but they've gotten through much of it in reasonable fashion.

 

[criticalanalysis]

He was really bad yesterday, which is very worrying as he's not been as sharp as he was pre-injury and this game was after a week's rest. What was worst was his decision making with a few full momentum losing poor long range shots, no incisive passing and daddling on the ball.

Casemiro has had his hands full playing next to him.

 

[OrcaFat]

He was really bad yesterday, which is very worrying as he's not been as sharp as he was pre-injury and this game was after a week's rest. What was worst was his decision making with a few full momentum losing poor long range shots, no incisive passing and daddling on the ball.

Casemiro has had his hands full playing next to him.

Yeah, our options are unpalatable and he’s been rushed back imo. Might be okay next year after a preseason. Even at full fitness he has faded after half time so we need a proper plan to overcome that problem. He’s a stop gap, I feel.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I think he probably just returned too early ('cos we were desperate for midfielders)

Definitely don't think he's "done" or anything like that - man has literally just been badly injured so it makes more sense to look to that/bad form then him being finished as a footballer.

 

[top1whoisman]

Won quite a few balls from the opponents. Didn't struggle defensively this time and controlled the midfield with confidence.

 

[Ekeke]

One of his better games, better than his average level at least.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Won quite a few balls from the opponents. Didn't struggle defensively this time and controlled the midfield with confidence.

Agree, him and Casemiro were the only reason we controlled the game for the majority of it (along with the defense). It could have been way worse if they had been off it.

 

[Idxomer]

Yeah, I was harsh on him in the Casemiro thread. He did very well and was sprinting back much more than usual.

 

[Stobzilla]

Played very well today I thought.

 

[zaafi]

He did well, but it's a crap Bournemouth. Needs upgrading in the summer.

 

[RedIan]

Controlled the game first half. Ideal for games like this, less so v City et al

 

[Strats]

Thought he was good. We do need an upgrade on him though, can't rely on him in the big games.

 

[2Injurytimegoal]

I reckon Rabiot is a perfect upgrade of him, and he is out of contract this summer?

He is good enough to play against the bottom half, but we will lose the midfield battle in CL or top 8 EPL matches.

Not sure Hannibal is good enough to promote, but we shouldn't keep both Fred and McT if we to challenge the top.

 

[MadDogg]

Did well in the first half, but fairly obviously tired as the match wore on as he tends to do. Thought he probably should have been bought off 5-10 minutes earlier than he was.

 

[TomSkalle]

What strikes me the most with Eriksen is that he is upgradeable both when it comes to be a goal threath and work rate/physical precence.

He is good in ball transition, and smart passes, but thats about it.
Yes needed in this team, but we also need physical precence and goals.

The heart problem has also made his weaknesses more obvious im afraid.
I wish it wasnt so, because i really liked him when he was 100%. But he isnt anymore.

 

[M Bison]

Thought he was fairly average and it looks like he's run out of steam. Wouldnt replace him as such, but we definitely need to be able to rotate him with others, we just dont have the capability/personnel.

 

[Borys]

Ten Hag basically accepts he will do nothing apart from that one brilliant ball which created a great chance (did that today as well). This happens whenever we play against opposition that has runners in midfield, and is a huge, huge weakness for us.
I would never believe we will get 3rd with him in CM spot so there's my negativity. Good season from him.

 

[FerociousCorgis]

He absolutely cannot be our starting cm next season. Needs to be rotated in or subbed on against teams sitting deep. Part of the reason Chelsea fecking carved us like a roasted turkey in that first half

 

[Top]

Ten Hag basically accepts he will do nothing apart from that one brilliant ball which created a great chance (did that today as well). This happens whenever we play against opposition that has runners in midfield, and is a huge, huge weakness for us.
I would never believe we will get 3rd with him in CM spot so there's my negativity. Good season from him.

Yup. City will through us like a hot knife through butter if he starts.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

He should only be a squad player next season. Cup games and some sporadic appearances in home games.

He is physically a passenger despite his excellent chance creation. We haVe too many weak and slow players so he can't continue to be a fixture in the side.

 

[el3mel]

He should be a bench option starting next year. Nice to have in the squad but he has no business being a main starter in the team aiming to win the league.

 

[Alemar]

Good assist from a set piece, but didn’t do much overall.

 

[Idxomer]

They walked through him like he wasn't there.

 

[Zoo]

Not got back up to speed since the injury.

 

[Chief123]

I’ll be surprised if he starts the cup final. City will murder us in midfield if he does. I expect Fred to start like he did at OT and man mark KDB.

 

[El Jefe]

EtH is going to start him against City isn't he? We're fecked if so.