I am not his greatest fan but we are where we are with him.I select him and tell him to bust a gut and get himself in the box when we are attacking, if he did that he would be a real goal scoring threat.Time to set him off the leash.
11
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 37
- Goals
- 5
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 1
The United classic, square peg round hole. See Mata, Sancho, Zirkzee, AWB, Mikhitaryan, Sanchez & so many more!
Letting him go is probably the right decision as he doesn't fit Amorim's profile for a number 9. However, I can guarantee he'll end up in 4231 system, with goal scoring inside forwards and look like an absolute world beater in no time.
There’s definitely some truth to that, but there are some forwards that naturally like to drift and connect play in their younger years that eventually benefit a lot from being given a more disciplined, limited role that goes against their nature. Sometimes that needs to be forced upon them through a change in the team setup, physical changes etc. and they eventually discover they can have a lot more impact that way.
I think someone like van Persie fits that description. He clearly had the touch, vision and close control to play behind the striker and he clearly enjoyed drifting. Most forwards do! And most forwards don’t enjoy being battered by centre backs and having to see most of the game pass them by, especially in their early years. But he peaked late in his career when he first played for an extended period of time as a solo #9. At that time he was clearly putting the team before his own interests, acting with responsibility to the point of being a captain, and somewhat unexpectedly he flourished.
Right now Zirkzee needs a lot more confidence and comfort before forcing him to act in a different role, disappear from the game for long periods and trust that he’ll be able to make the difference in the few moments he gets the ball in the box, but it’s not the craziest idea. If he got on a run of goals in that role he could flourish unexpectedly. Confidence can do some crazy things for forwards! People really underestimate the crushing effect of the current lack of confidence in our forwards, and at least part of it is directly caused by how the team are playing.
A player that wasn't exactly great at crossing, expected to overlap and deliver crosses. But hey, let's make silly comments!
Agree with you, players learn, improve, evolve... But he wasn't that player when we bought him, we didn't have the time & budget to develop him into a player that he wasn't.
Yeah I think it’s safe to say we didn’t have the latitude to invest in Zirkzee as project when we already had Hojlund. But we are where we are!
silly comments.Thing I dont get is that in Amorim's 3-4-3 I feel like a forward who can hold the ball up and look for the overlapping runs by the two 10's would be ideal.
I probably like him more than most and I know this is a silly oversimplification but I really do feel he would improve a lot of he literally just stood 10 yards further up the pitch by default.
I'm pretty sure I've only seen Garnacho amad and Zirkzee start a 90 min match together in one or two games max, even then Zirkzee doesn't get to play as a false 9 with two wingers that get in behind the defence. Its one of the most annoying things about Amorim how he plays Mainoo as a false 9 but doesn't with Zirkzee.
In Amorim's system, the vertically comes from the wingbacks and the CF based on what I've seen. The 10s play in the half spaces. This too is why Garnacho isn't a fit as a 10. He can't play in the hole so gets pushed out wide to do the wing play Dalot can't do as a LWB. Once Dorgu moves to that side, Garnacho almost becomes redundant.
Tottenham 1:0 Man Utd
New
Our best player today
The best player today by a mile. His control and touches are very good.
Thought he was decent today, despite a terrible team performance. He’s definitely better playing off the front rather than leaving the line.
Best performance in a Utd shirt. Was really fighting out there. Dropping into defensive midfield even sometimes. Think he’s finally acclimatised to the premier league.
Our best player today , but clearly not good enough and probably a player Ruben wouldn’t sign in a million years
Best player today...but, it feels like he is more interested in megging people than actually winning the game!
Thought he was excellent in the first half but seemed to struggle as the game went on. I do think keeping him and Rasmus on the pitch together is the way to go and with our injuries it is probably going to happen for the next few games.
Still tough to see where he fits as he obviously isn't a goalscorer and doesn't seem mobile enough to play as a 10. He's clearly a good footballer but you have to be more than that if you can't run or score goals
He was good and would look even better if the players around him weren't so dire
A bit livlier (tried harder) than his normal performances but poor success rate. Lost the ball the most of our players
This guy just has no gears to go up in. Plays at a set speed, so when given time or a one touch pass he is decent but man does he hold on to the ball way too long.
Really tidy feet today. I enjoyed watching him
Fuk me. THere's actually a good footballer in him. Those skill, fight and energy. Where has he been in the last 5 months?
Yeah he was good but also highlighted my concerns with him taking Amad's position. We were so open.
Not his fault as he isn't that type of player but I think we are going to need to find another solution between now and the end of the season.
He is clearly first choice up front for me currently.
Not his fault as he isn't that type of player but I think we are going to need to find another solution between now and the end of the season.
He is clearly first choice up front for me currently.
He'd be a decent player to have if we were about to be relegated to the championship
He has good feet for a big man. That's it really. He's not a striker, he's not a midfielder and he's not something in-between. Just has some good touches every game without ever really hurting the opposition.
He tried today, but he's just not Berbatov is he?
Fair play to him, he's actually becoming a decent player... Albeit one you don't trust to find the back of the net with any regularity
Nice average performance. A lot of people will be amazed by this performance but this is only because everyone else was absolutely shite
MOTM on account of not being total shite.
His best performance for us by far. Not everything came off and he fecked up a few times. But he was taking responsibility, taking risks, pushing forward and playing with confidence amongst absolute shite. He went up a level today. There's a player there. Shame that he's too slow.
Since everyone around him either got injured or turned to absolute shite, he’s somehow become our best attacking player.
He's not, but tbf Berbatov wouldn't be able to be Berbatov with these players around him.
Some really classy touches at times, a few signs that he is starting to feel more comfortable at the pace of the PL.
Yeah our best player because he wasn’t complete arse. A good outlet.
Has incredible feet in tight spaces but keeps the ball far far too long which kills our attacking impetus. After he beats one I swear he looks for another nutmeg more often than he does a pass. Still MOTM because we were such a disgrace today.
Very good today. But again he lacks emergency (like the rest of the team).
Would be amazing in a 4411 but not sure he fits long term into Amorims team.