Fabio da Silva | 2013/14 Performances

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Thought he looked very promising indeed. Far better then Jones or Smalling at right back.

Infact, Jones' injury might come as a bit of a blessing in disguise for Fabio.
 
He was good enough that it took me 10 minutes to realise Rafael hadn't recovered from his hammy.

I can see no reason whatsoever to have Jones or Smalling starting in Rafa's absence, given how well Fabio did today.
 
Happy to see him start, he did ok but it's obvious he needs a run of games which am hoping he's going to get as long as Rafael is out. He's a much better fullback than Jones (which is to be expected as Jones isn't a RB).
 
Lads, he is so much better than Jones at rb. In my opinion, it doesn't even come close. Jones is a cb.
 
Him and his brother must have the greatest job share in the world. Now if only Jones didn't muscle his way in on their turf.
 
should be our first choice backup for both rafael and evra. this guy is a natural full back. i hope moyes is willing to start him over jones or any else whenever his twin bro is unavailable.
 
Annahnomoss said:
What more did you want from him? He participated better in the offense than his brother does and even made Evra look like the "less involved wing-back" on the pitch for long periods today which is something Rafael has never/almost never done.
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Have you even watched Rafael over the last year? He's been immense going forward and defensively and is already just as good, if not better than Evra at pretty much everything except durability and heading on set pieces.

Rafael is always involved as much as Evra and usually more. Watch a game.
 
One of the only reasons Rafael got a break last season was because Jones and Smalling got injured in preseason, otherwise it's more than likely that he would have had to share the position with them and wouldn't have had that run of games to cement his pace here and make the position his own like he did. When Rafael got injured this season I hoped Fabio would be afforded a similar chance, a run of games there given that he's the next actual fullback for that position, and he is more experienced than he's given credit for really. Yes he's a bit behind Rafa, but he isn't some rookie and in Rafael's absence I think he should play. Hopefully he will. I'd rather he covers Evra too over Büttner.
 
Fabio backs Januzaj to shine

Fabio da Silva has no doubt Adnan Januzaj has the mentality to cope with being thrust into the Manchester United limelight at the tender age of 18.


The Brazilian was exactly the same age when he made his United debut in 2009 and is well placed to understand what Januzaj will have to deal with following his eye-catching introduction in Saturday's 2-0 win against Crystal Palace.
Fabio has warned the road ahead will not always be smooth but he has seen enough of Januzaj already to know the young Belgian is a player of huge promise.
"When you come through to the first-team it is very hard," said Fabio.
"The pressure is massive and he has a lot of things to think about.
"There are 70,000 people looking at him to see what he can do.
"But he has a good mentality for this type of thing. He can deal with it."
Operating on the same wing, at the same end, as Cristiano Ronaldo did when he made his United debut against Bolton just over 10 years ago, an element of comparison is inevitable.
Certainly Januzaj has the same confidence to unsettle defenders, claiming the assist for Wayne Rooney's second after he was chopped down just outside the box.
Januzaj's far smaller frame and predominantly left-footed approach mean it would be unfair to reach the same level as the former world player of the year.
Nevertheless, in a summer where United's lack of new faces has caused consternation among supporters, Januzaj could prove to be a very valuable addition.
"He is a top player," said Fabio.
"He is only young but he can dribble, he can shoot and he can cross. He is a clever boy.
"He will contribute a lot for Manchester United this season and in the future as well."
Not that Fabio can afford to get too distracted by the performances of others when his own position at United is so precarious.
Having spent last season on loan at QPR, the 23-year-old returned to United this summer with a new manager to impress and an uncertain future given the number of right-backs available to David Moyes is a lengthy one.
However, the hamstring injury brother Rafael sustained in the Community Shield last month was compounded when Phil Jones was ruled out by an ankle problem.
Moyes turned to Fabio on Saturday, handing the 23-year-old his first Premier League start for United since November 2011.
He certainly did not let anyone down and now could find himself in the bizarre position of being involved in a battle with Rafael for a single first-team berth.
"I have spoken about this with him in the past," he said.
"Are we going to fight for this position? Why not?
"We have always fought over everything. PlayStation, anything, so this is no different. We are mature enough to deal with it."
So much like each other, it seems at times the twins were the same person.
Fabio's year at QPR has changed that.
And despite the chaos at Loftus Road during a campaign that ended in relegation, he feels it has made him more determined.
"I learned a lot last season," he said.
"Before it was very new when I played. Of course, it is a dream to play at Old Trafford. But I am calm about the situation.
"I definitely want to impress the new manager but I am also confident in myself that I can play for Manchester United.
"I accept they are one of the biggest clubs in the world and have such fantastic players here.
"If it doesn't work out here maybe I have to go to another club.
"But I am still hopeful of playing here. I will try to the end to do that."
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/8923941/-
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ricky-romeo said:
should be our first choice backup for both rafael and evra. this guy is a natural full back. i hope moyes is willing to start him over jones or any else whenever his twin bro is unavailable.
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This. If Moyes wants to give Evra more of a rest he could start by giving Fab more games. Forget Baines, with games Fabio can become at left back what Rafael is at right back.
 
#07 said:
This. If Moyes wants to give Evra more of a rest he could start by giving Fab more games. Forget Baines, with games Fabio can become at left back what Rafael is at right back.
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Absolutely. he has shown that he crosses the ball quite sweetly with his left foot too. On the left back he also has the option of cutting inside and shooting, which he's not bad at either. Furthermore, he looks quite intelligent at linking up with the attackers and finding space for a through pass.
 
Regardless of the fact he played there for youth teams throughout his career, I just think he looks much more comfortable on the right and a little awkward on the left. And as impressive as he was yesterday, it was comfortably the weakest opposition we've faced. Jones had a tough few games and didn't really impress but he's shown enough there over the last couple of years to warrant a start over Fabio IMO.
 
mufcwarm92 said:
Regardless of the fact he played there for youth teams throughout his career, I just think he looks much more comfortable on the right and a little awkward on the left. And as impressive as he was yesterday, it was comfortably the weakest opposition we've faced. Jones had a tough few games and didn't really impress but he's shown enough there over the last couple of years to warrant a start over Fabio IMO.
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I think he's been very, very good playing down the left. As I said, he crosses the ball very well with his left foot and links up very well with his attacker and can offer more cutting in. That said, he would probably benefit from playing with a left footed winger down the left.
 
mufcwarm92 said:
Regardless of the fact he played there for youth teams throughout his career, I just think he looks much more comfortable on the right and a little awkward on the left. And as impressive as he was yesterday, it was comfortably the weakest opposition we've faced. Jones had a tough few games and didn't really impress but he's shown enough there over the last couple of years to warrant a start over Fabio IMO.
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Jones is a bit shite going forward though.
 
Jones is another example of someone who basically just lost an entire aspect of his game whilst playing for us. He looked quality charging forward when he first came to United; it's bizarre how someone can just lose that in such a short space of time.
 
KingEric7 said:
Jones is another example of someone who basically just lost an entire aspect of his game whilst playing for us. He looked quality charging forward when he first came to United; it's bizarre how someone can just lose that in such a short space of time.
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That was playing as a centre back, and whilst that was good, it was also bad because he's completely far out of position so I'm glad if that's been drilled out of him because one of my main worries about him was his lack of discipline positional wise.

In terms of crossing etc, I can't say he's always been the greatest at that.
 
Do remember him being like that on the wing, to be fair. I couldn't name games but I'm remembering the runs. Maybe you're right though in that it's something we're trying to drill out for when he's a centre back. I was sold on that performance at the back end of last season (Villa?) - that was one hell of a Nemanja Vidic impression.
 
Good to see Fabio getting a start. I'd prefer to see him starting over jones and smalling at RB while his brother is out. Then give him to the odd game at left back to rest evra.
 
Name Changed said:
Lads, he is so much better than Jones at rb. In my opinion, it doesn't even come close. Jones is a cb.
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This. Jones looks a beast at CB, however Fabio after being off for such a long time to slot in the way he has just goes to show how much of a natural he is at that position.

Play him more, let them battle it out. Sibling war!
 
If Fabio can reach Rafael's level (and there's no reason why he can't), the prospect of Fabio on the left and Rafael on the right is sexual.
 
Really hope that Fabio makes it, he's an exciting wee player. Got experience of playing in a CL final as well.
 
Jones never did play as a RB though, even for Blackburn. The only reason we started doing it was through injuries and I guess he played well enough to be considered there again.

Either way if Fabio is fit, and we are not playing stoke or the likes, then he should be automatic 2nd choice.
 
It will be interesting to see if Fabio features on Sunday or not. After Smalling's performance midweek, it will be hard to drop him but I do feel Fabio or any natural fullback, gives us more balance and more in attack. In saying that, with City's physical presence, it might not be bad idea to stick with Smalling for this one.

Happy either way to be honest.
 
I hope he starts. We'll get nothing going, attacking-wise, on the right if Smalling or Jones start.

Smalling and Jones might be better defenders but Valencia is no slouch when it comes to tracking back so Fabio shouldn't be exposed too much.
 
Shane88 said:
I hope he starts. We'll get nothing going, attacking-wise, on the right if Smalling or Jones start.

Smalling and Jones might be better defenders but Valencia is no slouch when it comes to tracking back so Fabio shouldn't be exposed too much.
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I don't think it's so much being exposed. There will be periods where City really pin us back and we will have to be compact, I think that will suit Smalling more than Fabio. I can't see City really hitting us on the counter too much, I think we will sit deeper for longer and look to hit them as we have done on occasions before.

This is probably the one game, after his solid performance midweek, that I would ever pick Smalling over Fabio at RB. As I said though, I'm good with whoever plays.
 
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