It's a different situation to Pogba. Frenkie is naturally a deeper player while Pogba is naturally a more advanced player. Frenkie is pretty much as press resistant as they come, Pogba crumbled when pressed, which is not what you want from the first player in the build up. I do agree we ideally need another midfielder, but Pogba needed an all star DM behind him who also initiated the build up. Frenkie needs someone stable and positionally sound, not necessarily a DM but just someone who won't vacate the midfield or roam around all the time. It's a role that Ten Hag has coached multiple players to play, even if they weren't naturals at it before. So I think it's more likely that he can just coach it to what we have and it'll be fine, though ideally we just sign a better mid. Importantly though, we need the de Jong role in our team more than we need his partner. We need both, but we are more likely to be able to get by with De Jong compared to if we just got bissouma for example.
Frenkie de Jong | The last muppeting lap
- Thread starter davidmichael
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I don't understand the comparison.
If you want to compare FDJ's situation at Barcelona, compare it with Scholes situation in England. The managers didn't utilise the player's strength. Right?
So how is FDJ playing in ETH system will be the same situation as Pogba? If you are referring to his partner is not good enough for Man United then that is not because FDJ can't play with his partner but because Fred/McT are really not good enough for Man United, it's like Carrick playing next to Cleverley.
FDJ still managed to perform world class level playing next to Schone's level or Berghuis level or Koopmeiners. While Pogba needs to play next to Kante, Vidal, and Pirlo level to perform. Two different situations as both have different issues. FDJ's issue at Barcelona was similar to Scholes's issue in England national team, the role/position they were given or played doesn't play the player's strength. Pogba's issue is ridiculous because it's not that he doesn't play in the right role/position but because he needs to play next to world class players in order to perform good.
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This is what worries me. Barcelona cannot wait to sell him to the highest bidders to buy more midfielders. Why aren't they rating him?
/bangs head against wall.
What is it they actually do? Sit around refreshing their outlook, or given it's United, lotus notes every five minutes?
FDJ isnt enough for our midfield. This is going to be dragged out all summer and dressed up as a success. We might get one of Timber/Torres/Antony too but dont expect more than that.
Meanwhile another club swoops in gets the deal done in 3 days making us look like mugs.
Cue "de jong was shit anyways" and "he was priced too much".
I suspect it’s more likely the likes of yourselves that sit around refreshing every five minutes during the transfer window. The deal is probably moving at a pace the club is happy with, the window opened 3 days ago.
Does he feck. One good season?
You telling me he is all of a sudden world class in the span of 5-6 months? Is that all it takes now?
Scored more goals than haaland? Maybe because Haaland only played 3 CL matches due to injuries you absolute melt.
You'd never fecking heard of him before we were linked.
How many benfica matches in the portugese league have you watched then?
Lets not pretend you're some bastion of european football scouting
70+10 mil, otherwise move on. Barça are a fecking joke.
I can see there being more noise in the morning after the Netherlands game tonight.
I'm sure you love Woodward's right hand man who came with Moyes and has overseen a decade of failure, doubt most fans are on your wavelength though.
Article from Laurie Whitwell coupled with many other reports, and he's got some of his own connections too. If you believe Joel Glazer isn't the one holding our dealings up then you're the biggest dildo around.
And we already know that we were in talks with the likes of Gravenberch with hardly a rumour abound. It’s rare that we’ll ever be working on a single target for a position, never mind a single target for the entire window. The idea that the only work we’re doing in the transfer market is the work that football fans read about is just silly.
So you believe what you read on muppetiers? And have the nerve to insult others intelligence. Jesus christ
Ahh.. Conspiracy theories and insulting other posters.. You're one of those. Gotcha.
Even if we are to just take reports at face value, there have been numerous just this week stating that United are talking to other midfielder targets in addition to De Jong as alternatives.
What bloody connections does that lad have? I doubt there are many United executives hanging about round his mums basement
.I'm as anti-Glazer as they come, but the bed shitting from some of you lads this summer is off the charts. There isn't a scrap of evidence to suggest Joel Glazer is holding up individual transfer negotiations.
Whitwell made one comment about Sancho not being signed the summer before, because Joel Glazer said there wasn't money for it. That isn't being overinvolved in negotiations - it's an owner setting a budget.
The transfer window opening has nothing to do with it, you're allowed to negotiate outside the window. City agreed a deal for one of the biggest names in football before the window opened.
I also don't care one way or the other about FdJ. If the club thinks he's too expensive and signing him won't leave money for other targets, I don't mind if they walk away and get a couple of other midfielders.
I don't understand why this deal has to hold up every other potential transfer - Kessie, Nunez, Bissouma, Timber etc. etc.
Perhaps I insulted him first?
I'm starting to suspect he might have a more personal stake in the video he's promoting than he is letting on.
NYSE - check
Shirt sales - check
Moaning about it dragging on - check
Abuse of the club execs - check
Questioning why no one else wants him - check
Overly specific references to costs and value - check
Tweets from accounts with <100 followers - check
Yep it’s muppet season.
Shirt sales - check
Moaning about it dragging on - check
Abuse of the club execs - check
Questioning why no one else wants him - check
Overly specific references to costs and value - check
Tweets from accounts with <100 followers - check
Yep it’s muppet season.
Hm maybe its down to browser or something. Anyway, got what you meant, cheers.
He painted the picture in the background of the video?
City signed a player who had a release clause. A player they have likely been negotiating with for 2 years already. Their coach and backroom team have been in place for years and they have a clear roadmap for squad building.
We have a new backroom team in place a few weeks and are chasing players we'll have only started speaking with in May.
How on earth can people not see the different challenges involved?
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No. That's an original Dawn McGrath if ever I saw one.
Yeah Barca have used him wrong, but it just highlights how he is a very specific player that needs very specific things to be able to perform.
Pogba showed for France at the World Cup ( as well as at times for Juve and United youth) that he does play well in a deeper position. He likes to pick up the ball deep (like FdJ) and progress forward with play in front of him (like FdJ). He can carry or hit the ball long (like FdJ). Perhaps you understand why I think there is a similarity. Both need support around them because, whilst they can pick the ball up deep, they quickly move forwards and vacate that deeper position, which is a problem when the ball is turned over.
And to be fair, FdJ only performed well in a bit of a run in the CL and in Eredivisie. If he won the world cup next Berghuis then you may have a point, but he will need a very good partner next to him to be winning the PL/CL with us. This is irrelevant to my point, which was more tactical than the level of the players around them, which ETH has explained pretty well in the quotes.
Have we not been in negotiations before the window opened? And the transfer window opening has plenty to with it because it is the window that dictates the amount of time we have. And clearly, we have a lot. Hence the club not ‘walking away and signing a couple of midfielders’, as posters have been calling for us to do for a month already, because if we can’t sign the player today, we should just give up, despite having months!
Half of the names you have listed have nothing to do with us. Why are you listing Bissouma, Kessie, Nunez as potential transfers being held up?
Are you actually quoting somebody from Muppetiers as a serious source
What is it that Joel Glazer does that holds things up so much? it's pure nonsense.
See my post above. It's about their positional play and tendencies on the pitch. Regarding the bold, the two are the same as I think many are using DM and no.6 interchangeably. Like I said, it could be many profile of player but they need to hold their position and cover those areas when FdJ moves forward, which was the same for Pogba. Look at how he played for France, collecting the ball deep and spraying balls for Mbappe & co to chase, or carrying the ball to the final third of the pitch. Both have a similar game despite being different players with different strengths/weaknesses.
The difference is when under pressure, FdJ is in his element running the midfield and the player, Pogba goes missing.
Does he feck. One good season?
You telling me he is all of a sudden world class in the span of 5-6 months? Is that all it takes now?
Scored more goals than haaland? Maybe because Haaland only played 3 CL matches due to injuries you absolute melt.
You'd never fecking heard of him before we were linked.
How many benfica matches in the portugese league have you watched then?
Lets not pretend you're some bastion of european football scouting
I keep hearing that he had one good season but Benfica broke the leagues transfer record to sign him so he must have been pretty good before that
I read that Barca fans were worried they'd be replacing de Jong for Soler a few months ago. Seems like that's the case.
True but it's a start at least.
Ok and when FDJ is at the top of the pitch and suddenly Liverpool or whoever have us on the counter, they're pretty similar ie. both need somebody behind them holding that midfield because they aren't top athletes that can recover quickly. Nothing about being pressed. He escapes the press and moves forwards, but what happens if we lose the ball?
I thought I read that Soler was one of the best performing midfielders in La Liga this sesaon?
Besides they have added Kessie, have two very good young midfielders and want Bernardo Silva, who is top class. They'll be fine, I'm sure.
Kessie and Soler aren't that good. They're not getting Silva either. If I were a Barca fan I'd be feeling the exact same.
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