He seems to get his second wind quite late in games. I noticed him pressing in the 85th like a madman, while at times in the 60th-65th he looked shattered.
17
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
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Weird performance. So good first half. Absolute crap second half.
Really? He did a good job against Leicester considering he was basically playing as a one man midfield against a good team, with his supposed partner McTominay having the most invisible central midfield performance I've seen in my life. And today, with McTominay being only slightly better than he was last week, Fred was one of the best players on the park for the first half although yes he did fall away later on in the match.
Overall his form has dropped a little over the last month or so but he's still been playing well and is vital for how we play.
Decent performance. Got visibly tired in the second half.
The pass I mentioned was one that was never on, from a position that you can’t really afford to give the ball away in. but it’s not a case of one or the other like you’re trying to make it.
I don’t deny we miss him when he doesn’t play, because having a midfielder with energy is vital. However, he has one of the worst first touches I’ve seen for a United midfielder and it effects everything else he does. I don’t think his passing is actually the issue, it’s the fact he needs to rush everything, because he needs two touches to get the ball under control.
We clearly need his energy at the moment, but going forward there’s a lot of midfielders that do what he does without the obvious issues in their game, and I’m confident it’s a position we’ll have upgraded by September.
AWB, Bruno and McTominay all had more presses than Fred against Villa and McTom came off after 64 mins. Considering thats the main thing Fred is good at (other than running) its not great, though he was also playing at the base of a diamond which means he had more positional responsibility than normal when there are 2 players there.
He made some interceptions to win the ball, had very little success with tackles and aside from the one forward attacking pass I believe into Bruno I thought his passing was not as positive as it could have been.
He was okay
He made some interceptions to win the ball, had very little success with tackles and aside from the one forward attacking pass I believe into Bruno I thought his passing was not as positive as it could have been.
He was okay
I have high expectation of him because he's been really good with us. But in the last 2 games, he's just lost and was easy to bypass. It's noticeable enough for me.
Fred's strengths and weaknesses Vs. the other DMs/CMs who have played at least 10 matches in the league this season. Sorted by number of pressures per 90 mins since its Fred's strength and he comes in 3rd after Allan and Conor Gallagher. I should also say he's 4th in tackles+interceptions after Anguissa, Kante and Hojbjerg and 4th in interceptions after Anguissa, Kante and Brownhill
This makes it quite easy to compare him defensively against Allan who averages more pressures and with more success than Fred, but makes less interceptions.
We can also see Fred's low tackle on dribbler % compared to Allan. Bruno is actually slightly higher with 0.69 to 0.68 while Fred attempts it a bit more often at 3.07 per game to Bruno's 2.92
Some midfielders who are doing really well in the middle this season clearly don't press anywhere near as much as Fred. Henderson, Ward-Prowse, McGinn, Rodri and Rice some of the ones far down the list in terms of pressures. They obviously play the defensive part of the game differently to Fred. He leaves his area and presses the man with the ball and they protect the defense with their position instead helping out the CBs.
This makes it quite easy to compare him defensively against Allan who averages more pressures and with more success than Fred, but makes less interceptions.
We can also see Fred's low tackle on dribbler % compared to Allan. Bruno is actually slightly higher with 0.69 to 0.68 while Fred attempts it a bit more often at 3.07 per game to Bruno's 2.92
Some midfielders who are doing really well in the middle this season clearly don't press anywhere near as much as Fred. Henderson, Ward-Prowse, McGinn, Rodri and Rice some of the ones far down the list in terms of pressures. They obviously play the defensive part of the game differently to Fred. He leaves his area and presses the man with the ball and they protect the defense with their position instead helping out the CBs.
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His on the ball stuff could be better.
His off the ball stuff is probably his best asset.
He will definitely start in the middle against bigger teams.
If he's part of a midfield three or four and not just holding would like to see him contribute more otherwise he's generally good at getting the ball back for us
His off the ball stuff is probably his best asset.
He will definitely start in the middle against bigger teams.
If he's part of a midfield three or four and not just holding would like to see him contribute more otherwise he's generally good at getting the ball back for us
That is a fair post. I don't agree with everything because i don't think his touch is as bad as people like to make it and also his passing is okay (but that is of course a bit subjective) and i don't think we will try to or even want to upgrade his position.
But i would like to know which midfielders do you think have his energy and no obvious issues? Because i don't think there are many.
Which players have his energy and are playing for the top clubs in midfield and winning the biggest prizes?
Maybe energy and pressing over all else isn't what you really need to achieve that.
Goretzka does a lot of running but he's also twice as physically strong as Fred and scores a few goals
Fair point. But in our setup right now it is really important. If we'd have a CDM like Fabinho/Casemiro or even prime Matic i think we would be far better with someone better on the ball then Fred (e.g. Donny van de Beek) and less energy wouldn't be a problem. Right now though i think we are not good enough on the ball and defensively to dispense on his energy. It is true that Fred is a part of this problem but before we get a top CDM who is excellent in defense and ball retention i am quite happy with Fred, even with all his faults. In my priority list a upgrade on Fred is not that high.
Man Utd 0:2 Man City
I though he was the only player from our team who was good. Passing improved, calm on the ball mostly.
Thought he was really good in the game. Even looked good going forward picking out passes and making things happen. Defensive work was great given McT was giving very little help. Between him and Shaw for man of the match our side.
Busied himself and I like his influence on our tempo, but the erratic passing is frustrating.
I missed the first 10 minutes so no idea how he went there, but once I started watching I thought he was poor from the 10-20 minute mark. After that he started getting more involved and looking quite a bit better, although there were a couple times City went past him a bit too easily. He has played the last three games basically by himself though as McTominay has been poor. He also created our one really good goal scoring opportunity where Rashford mis-controlled his great pass, although I think it may have been called offside if he had scored.
Why does he keep having that small moment where he loses the ball between his own legs? 
Looked really good, shame nobody else other than Shaw did.
Far from a perfect performance from him last night but one of our better players. Always at it and involved.
I'm not a fan but thought he was decent last night. Nothing more! Manages to make at least one Kamikazi pass in every game. Made one last night which City luckily didn't cash in on. Gave away a free-kick just outside the area after making a ridiculous tackle which resulted in a yellow card. Luckily City couldn't make anything from the set piece. Should have been subbed off earlier otherwise a decent performance.
He's one of our most consistent performers. You know what you will get. Relentless energy, pressing, some great tackles, a handful of chances created, lots of quick passing and one or two straight into touch, and a mis-control in a dangerous area. I'm happy with that.
I noticed that it's usually when there's no player around, I think because he's trying to look elsewhere and loses concentration and focus on the ball.Why does he keep having that small moment where he loses the ball between his own legs?
He needs to learn the art of fouling and not getting a booking from fernandinho. Basically needs to stay on his feet when he does subtle fouls to break up play (you can't always win the ball cleanly)
Liverpool 0:0 Man Utd
Poorest game for a while, especially his passing in the opening 20 minutes. Improved a bit but was still got dirbbled past a lot.
I don't get Fred... Sometimes he'll recieve the ball under pressure, be calm, do a great turn, dart off and play a good pass.
Then other times he'll look like he's never even heard of the game of football and the sheer idea of kicking the thing is a mystery.
These things may often happen within 5 minutes of each other.
Then other times he'll look like he's never even heard of the game of football and the sheer idea of kicking the thing is a mystery.
These things may often happen within 5 minutes of each other.
Was just there for the vibes tonight.
Every clearance he made seemed to be woeful. Also was getting dribbled past with ease all game, Thiago made a bit of a fool of him a few times
He needs to add Matic passing
He probably won't though
He probably won't though
Very carless in his possession and passing. Well, I don't think he'll ever improve this as it doesn't seem to be his game but I really hope he does.
Poor first but better second half. Not played for a while and he's a player that needs play regular.....
Started slowly but he was good from the first 20 minutes onwards. All our midfield and defence played very well today.
Thought overall he did well especially because with Shaqiri playing deep, it’s was effectively 3 on 2.
I can't wait till we get an upgrade on him or McTominay. He just frustrates me too much with his passing and his half assed attempts at clearing the ball.
Ole eventually replaced Lingard and Pereira. No reason to think he might not look to improving our centre midfield as well.
Ole eventually replaced Lingard and Pereira. No reason to think he might not look to improving our centre midfield as well.
Thought he was fine. We came under massive pressure from the start and all our players were messing up. Once we started to get some possession, I think we played alright. Fred was just one of many players that this happened to today.
I thought he was pretty good in the second half. Started off some counter attacks and defended well. Shame our attack wasn't on form, otherwise one of them may have ended in a goal.
I think people have to accept that Liverpool is a very good team. They may not be as good as last year, but they are still strong.
I thought he was pretty good in the second half. Started off some counter attacks and defended well. Shame our attack wasn't on form, otherwise one of them may have ended in a goal.
I think people have to accept that Liverpool is a very good team. They may not be as good as last year, but they are still strong.
I think it's hard as sometimes Scott goes missing and he's left on his own to cover a lot of distance.....
Did his defensive job very well, but was really poor on the ball even by his standards.
After the first 20 he did very well
Did all of the usual Fredisms of hustking and competing but was also very tidy with his passing. Just behind Shaw and Pogba today for MOTM.
Made the most tackles of any player on the field. Played his part in keeping that clean sheet.
Thought he started poorly like the rest of the team and then he was good. I think it would have been good to have gotten Matic on for Scott.
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