I guess he have realized that he can't shoot from outside the box since he decided to pass the ball into the net.
At least it worked!
At least it worked!
Fred: the enigma
- Thread starter Fortitude
- Start date
He's one of those instinct players. He can't be allowed to think about his next move because he will invariably choose the wrong move. Put him with quick, similarly technical players and he's brilliant. Give him a Ronaldo statue upfront or a McTominay dawdling on the ball and Fred has to think too much and it all goes wrong.
What summed up Fred today was one move. He beautifully beat a player with a turn and run, but then made the worse pass.
So Fred’s probably a player who plays on natural ability, energy & instinct but when he has time or needs to think then he tends to fluff things up.
So Fred’s probably a player who plays on natural ability, energy & instinct but when he has time or needs to think then he tends to fluff things up.
I love when he has games like that. He’s somehow brilliant but also does the shittest things at the same time. All with a smile on his face and it’s quite endearing.
Yeah. That was summed up perfectly today when he beat that player with the beautiful turn and run but then fluffed the pass
Did I hear the chant “Fred will tear you apart again “ tonight 
I think it's mainly because his technique is not outstanding. It's not terrible like some claim but it's not like the typical Brazilian midfielder with a totally reliable touch and passing consistency. It's a bit all over the shop within matches nevermind across games so when it's a bad day it can be really bad.
I think you have to kind of accept he is going to give the ball away and frustrate you. But he gives you a lot of strengths with his energy, mentality on the pitch, pressing, he can carry the ball. None of this is new, he's been here forever so I don't know why people wildly veer in their assessment of him. He's a good player with defined strengths and weaknesses.
I think you have to kind of accept he is going to give the ball away and frustrate you. But he gives you a lot of strengths with his energy, mentality on the pitch, pressing, he can carry the ball. None of this is new, he's been here forever so I don't know why people wildly veer in their assessment of him. He's a good player with defined strengths and weaknesses.
He has several good games followed by a few very bad ones and then pulls a worldie like today. Point being he’s very bad one’s are the most noticed and over shadow he’s good games and the worldie’s
Fred is the antonym of composure.
Can still be useful though.
Can still be useful though.
Hw was MoM tonight. You cannot underestimate his energy in a game like that. Tons of great passes too. Very happy for him.
He's not an enigma. He has bad games just like any other player, and he's a solid player that usually goes as the side goes in terms of performance nothing more nothing less.
Every time he has a bad game it's "I never want to see him play for United again" or "if Fred starts I'm not watching". Caf drama queens just need to keep their emotions in check and not become hysterical.
Every time he has a bad game it's "I never want to see him play for United again" or "if Fred starts I'm not watching". Caf drama queens just need to keep their emotions in check and not become hysterical.
You need to play players in a system that allows their strengths to shine. If you’re going to ask Fred to sit deep as one of the two pivots, or worse still, as the only DM, he will look poor. With Casemiro on the pitch and playing supremely as he did today, Fred had the license to be anywhere the ball goes. His starting position was much higher than what we’ve played him under Ole. Carrick played him in a similar position during his interim role. McTominay is somewhat the same. Casemiro is actually the only real DM in our squad.
Exactly this. Fred is chaos, but if you can make him controlled chaos he can be hell for an opposition team because he can chase the ball around the pitch like Kante for 90 minutes and then pop up with an Iniesta like through ball out of nowhere for an assist. Give him the proper structure to be released into within a team and he’s very useful, because even if he’s having a bad day on the ball he’ll still be excellent off of it and you hope your best 4 attackers can make up for it
This. Ole tried to turn 8s into 6s, but the throw of the dice turned out to be snake eyes and not box cars.
The acquisition of Casemiro allows Fred and McTominay to be to deployed to their fullest ability. Bizarre that this escaped Ole.
It is not that difficult to understand the real Fred. Fred always give you 100% so no worry. What he is lacking, is 50-50 challenge particular the last man standing, hence manager(s) beginning to change their mind on playing him as DMF.
Can he play a bit forward, well, only when he is lucky with those lucky bound, which he won't get every game. Fred will never be as good as Eriksen or KDB as MF.
Can you find it please?Every time he has a decent game a new thread starts
One was started after he crossed the ball with his right foot ffs
Easily, 2 minutes
Great. Looking forward to it, thanks.
He's no different to our team as a whole. Capable of great performances but frustratingly inconsistent. Just as likely to struggle against tinpot Europa league teams as dominate top PL teams. feck knows why
Jeus Christ this place at times is a cluster feck. One semi decent game and "Fred the ENIGMA". Everything that is wrong with him was on display once again tonight.
3rd post from @golden_blunder: It was good but I don’t think it was that good to warrant a seperate thread.
I agree with golden blunder
This poses an interesting question: can he be relied upon as a rotation/squad player? Ideally he wouldn't be a starter, but there's a need for a player with his skill set as part of the squad. However such a player isn't needed every game, just for certain occasions. Best to have someone who can come in to the side once every few games, or come off the bench in tight games, and hit the ground running.
I agree to but that doesnt mean he's treated like world class after a good game like you said. Threads are made about 1000 silly things here daily.
The moment has beat his man in his own half with a nice piece of skill, charged forward and then misplaced a 10 yard pass made me chuckle. That’s Fred in a nutshell for me, but I have to say he was excellent on the whole last night. Our 2nd best player after Casemiro.
He is much better suited where he is now, with Casemiro doing the dirty work behind him. Fred covers the ground and gets stuck in but he doesn’t have the ability of a top CDM to read the game or take up the right potions.
He won’t be a starter if we buy De Jong or someone of that quality and that’s fine, I’ve got no problem with him as a squad player or perhaps a player for those games where you need more legs in midfield than normal.
He is much better suited where he is now, with Casemiro doing the dirty work behind him. Fred covers the ground and gets stuck in but he doesn’t have the ability of a top CDM to read the game or take up the right potions.
He won’t be a starter if we buy De Jong or someone of that quality and that’s fine, I’ve got no problem with him as a squad player or perhaps a player for those games where you need more legs in midfield than normal.
Well you have that bizarre thread, you have one from last night, I’m sure I could find more but i doubt it would matter. He had a good game, not a great game there were still holes, his shooting was awful his passing was 77% which isn’t great. He makes up for it with energy which was the same thing Phil Neville did but ultimately we know that if we are going to return to the top then players like Fred need to be the back ups
I agree with that. If we buy FDJ or another CM I dont mind Fred being a backup at all.
He’s not even an enigma. There was an inevitability to him following up his worst performance of the season with his best. It’s what you get from Fred.
We knew a week ago that these latest two performances are part of the Fred experience.
We knew a week ago that these latest two performances are part of the Fred experience.
Played well last night but hope Eriksen comes straight back in for the Chelsea game.
Like most players, but especially central midfielders, to get consistent performances you need to be starting consistently
The McFred partnership started consistently for over 3 years.
Fred was our best midfielder over that period, in a very unstructured team. He was also used in a role which clearly demanded too much of him in terms of defensive positioning deep in front of the backline, what was proven many times isn't his strength. Other than that he's been very useful. He hit the bottom when was asked to play single pivot/DM early this season (this happened before under other managers as well). He's clearly a pure B2B.
I am surprised he is called inconsistent. He only started getting game time recently. I think once he gets into rhytm he is quite consistent. Yesterday was one-off obviously, but I would expect decent performances from him on regular basis.
Agree. He was good last night, but has no consistancy. He was poor against Newcastle and has someone said its a toss of a coin if he can do it 2 matches on the bounce. Overall his passing is average and his shooting is wank. He is a limited player and of course we could find an upgrade on him. I dont get the love in for him by some on here, when you think of the midfielders we have had at this club.
Fred Targaryen
He really does leave me confused, he puts in a very good overall performance but there were times yesterday, on more than one occasion, that he manages to misplace simple 3 yard passes.
Playing alongside Casemiro and having Ten Haag as coach is imo a big part of the reason why he can put that kind of performance in. He was superb yesterday!
It is simple actually. He is much better as offensive with casemiro at his back rather then deffensive midfielder.
Absolutely loved this match. I love Bruno and Fred, so after seeing threads like we won’t win anything with Bruno, and Fred is the worst footballer ever, it was great to see them react and turn it around and both being contenders of MOTM. Yeah it was one game, but it’s good to see the positivity and recognition of what both players can offer - especially as both of them work harder than anyone else in the team.