[Borys]

Would be more prudent to sign a backup for Casemiro.

This.

I'm not completely sold on him. He looks a bit slow (probably not top fitness yet), his passing is reliable but doesn't influence the game that much. I was hoping to see him driving with the ball a bit more, while now he seems very static - maybe that's instructions but I'm not having high hopes.

Honestly Fred has been doing a good job for us recently, I don't see that much between them.

He looked better with McTominay behind bo so would Fred.

Let's judge him when he's playing in preferred position, but at the moment clearly we need someone to play Casemiro role instead of another B2B midfielder.

 

[Litch]

I think some are going way overboard, nice tidy player but we need to see more. Let’s not forget Fred has two in two assists.

 

[pascell]

Seems a bit shocked at the pace of the games, needs to get used to it.

Made the most ball recoveries (11) than anyone else on the pitch. Seems to be more composed and have a better weight of pass than Fred.

I think we'll sell Fred and McTominay in summer, make Sabitzer permanent, sign another quality CM and promote Mainoo full time.

 

[Litch]

Made the most ball recoveries (11) than anyone else on the pitch. Seems to be more composed and have a better weight of pass than Fred.

I think we'll sell Fred and McTominay in summer, make Sabitzer permanent, sign another quality CM and promote Mainoo full time.

We aren’t selling both Fred and Scott. I’m not convinced he’s coming here from Bayern to sit on our bench….

 

[bosnian_red]

Made the most ball recoveries (11) than anyone else on the pitch. Seems to be more composed and have a better weight of pass than Fred.

I think we'll sell Fred and McTominay in summer, make Sabitzer permanent, sign another quality CM and promote Mainoo full time.

Not a chance we sell Fred, he's such an important squad player to have and bring on off the bench. He's also been great this season when he hasn't had to be a DM. Not a chance Ten Hag sells him IMO. McTominay might go in search of regular football, but again, Sabitzer isn't a DM so I don't think we sign him to replace McTominay.

 

[Swedish_Plumber]

Thought he cleaned up a lot of second balls and had a good game.

On another day VAR takes the still frame of the contact from the tackle and sends him off.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

He’s a lot better than Fred, just doesn’t have Fred’s engine. We should sign him permanently. At minimum he’s an upgrade on McFred, plus he offers adequate cover should any of Casemiro, Eriksen, or even Bruno be out. He has shown a consistency already that McFred struggles to achieve.

 

[pascell]

We aren’t selling both Fred and Scott. I’m not convinced he’s coming here from Bayern to sit on our bench….

Not a chance we sell Fred, he's such an important squad player to have and bring on off the bench. He's also been great this season when he hasn't had to be a DM. Not a chance Ten Hag sells him IMO. McTominay might go in search of regular football, but again, Sabitzer isn't a DM so I don't think we sign him to replace McTominay.

He's only got a year left on his deal come summer, neither are good enough to where our midfield should be and Sabitzer when settled, will be a much better partner for Casemiro than Fred.

McTominay isn't a DM either, he was just played there as we were lacking in that area.

 

[Remember the geese]

This.

I'm not completely sold on him. He looks a bit slow (probably not top fitness yet), his passing is reliable but doesn't influence the game that much. I was hoping to see him driving with the ball a bit more, while now he seems very static - maybe that's instructions but I'm not having high hopes.

Honestly Fred has been doing a good job for us recently, I don't see that much between them.

He looked better with McTominay behind bo so would Fred.

Let's judge him when he's playing in preferred position, but at the moment clearly we need someone to play Casemiro role instead of another B2B midfielder.

Yeah, I think he'd be perfectly fine as a squad player, but it just seems a bit unnecessary seeing as we already have Fred. We could do with two new midfielders. One as a starter and the other as cover for Casemiro. Not sure where Sabitzer fits in.

 

[croadyman]

Lucky to stay on by sounds of it,not averse to signing him but not at the cost of a progressive CM/backup for Casa. Should only be addition to that but we won't sign 3 midfielders.

 

[croadyman]

Yeah, I think he'd be perfectly fine as a squad player, but it just seems a bit unnecessary seeing as we already have Fred. We could do with two new midfielders. One as a starter and the other as cover for Casemiro. Not sure where Sabitzer fits in.

Could we not sell Fred & McTominay to keep him

 

[DWelbz19]

I don’t think he’s stood out particularly (negatively or positively) — he seems good when he’s on the ball, but he hardly commands the ball and sets play going. Jack of all trades type who you’d imagine is generally speaking is better than McTominay (and Donny).

I’d sign him if we can get rid of those two. He replaces them as a squad option and we sign a proper no.8 who has the short game ball retention and playmaking the squad lacks.

 

[Marwood]

I don't know if he's better than McFred but is he more consistent?

Because that's what we need from a backup midfielder. If he can be around Fred and McTominays good performances but do that consistently he'd be perfect.

Unfortunately with McFred nobody knows what you're going to get one game to the next.

 

[Remember the geese]

Could we not sell Fred & McTominay to keep him

I'd be open to selling McTominay and replacing him with a genuine Casemiro deputy. As for Fred, it just seems a lot of unnecessary upheaval to sell two centre mids and sign three. That's without even including Van de Beek. Besides, I'm not too sure whether Sabitzer would be willing to be a squad player.

 

[royboy16]

Thought he was excellent today.Some nice flicks and toe pokes with the ball.

 

[Donut]

This.

I'm not completely sold on him. He looks a bit slow (probably not top fitness yet), his passing is reliable but doesn't influence the game that much. I was hoping to see him driving with the ball a bit more, while now he seems very static - maybe that's instructions but I'm not having high hopes.

Honestly Fred has been doing a good job for us recently, I don't see that much between them.

He looked better with McTominay behind bo so would Fred.

Let's judge him when he's playing in preferred position, but at the moment clearly we need someone to play Casemiro role instead of another B2B midfielder.

Agreed, he’s been okay. Anything above 20 million and we could probably get a younger player of similar quality.

 

[Litch]

He's only got a year left on his deal come summer, neither are good enough to where our midfield should be and Sabitzer when settled, will be a much better partner for Casemiro than Fred.

McTominay isn't a DM either, he was just played there as we were lacking in that area.

Good enough? No one is suggesting we should start with McFred again. Both have proven to be very valuable players to the squad. Our best performance this season against spurs Fred was MOTM. Fred has a Goal and two assists in three games. Not sure what more you want from your bench players?

 

[The Corinthian]

Theoretically if we’re signing 2 midfielders in the summer, then he should be one of them. Just ticks every box that we need.

 

[Red Rash]

Good player that will probably be better with Casemiro. Even though he hasn't been world class I think he is showing enough to be a decent option for us if he keeps us this form.

It's not always about signing world class players, sometimes you need good squad players that can provide depth if you want to think about winning titles.

 

[Chief123]

We finally get to see him play alongside Casemiro. Two players both comfortable on the ball with either foot.

 

[Litch]

Fans don’t half love a new shiny thing. Some are still convinced that Donny will be a success here. I’d bet money there is not many fans here that thought, let’s go and get that player at Bayern. Also if Bayern thought he was that good, they wouldn’t be letting him go in Jan.
Like with Donny, some fans are willing to talk up anyone, once they don’t see Scott or Fred in our midfield. Funny how the midfielders that some fans wanted us to spend millions on, were sat on Leicester bench today.

 

[pascell]

Good enough? No one is suggesting we should start with McFred again. Both have proven to be very valuable players to the squad. Our best performance this season against spurs Fred was MOTM. Fred has a Goal and two assists in three games. Not sure what more you want from your bench players?

And he has 2 goals and 1 assist from 21 PL games, I want way more than that.

He instills panic when he skews his passing when being pressed, like earlier today and he passed straight to the Leicester player, you don't control games with players like him in CM. Very reliable? We've been terrible for 10 years, they've played apart of that, how are they valuable? I guess it depends what standards you expect.

 

[Member 109952]

Fans don’t half love a new shiny thing. Some are still convinced that Donny will be a success here. I’d bet money there is not many fans here that thought, let’s go and get that player at Bayern. Also if Bayern thought he was that good, they wouldn’t be letting him go in Jan.
Like with Donny, some fans are willing to talk up anyone, once they don’t see Scott or Fred in our midfield. Funny how the midfielders that some fans wanted us to spend millions on, were sat on Leicester bench today.

The Donny comparison is weird, I disliked Donny from the first games he played for us, he did absolutely nothing other than pass to the nearest man.

Sabitzer you can already see has quite a bit in his game - good passing range, physical, can turn under pressure.

It's not about new things - it's about evaluating players on their own merits. I still haven't really warmed to Antony for example.

 

[Godfather]

Fans don’t half love a new shiny thing. Some are still convinced that Donny will be a success here. I’d bet money there is not many fans here that thought, let’s go and get that player at Bayern. Also if Bayern thought he was that good, they wouldn’t be letting him go in Jan.
Like with Donny, some fans are willing to talk up anyone, once they don’t see Scott or Fred in our midfield. Funny how the midfielders that some fans wanted us to spend millions on, were sat on Leicester bench today.

Completely talking out of your arse in fairness. I don't even know what fecking point you are trying to make.

Anyway as to Sabitzer: Another good game. For a guy thrown in mid season in a new team he settled in really well.

 

[OrcaFat]

I see loads of people are judging him already. Probably these same people will recall the shit that was written about Casemiro after three or four games. Perhaps not.

We will only see how good this guy is when he’s had two or three games playing with a proper no6, i.e. Casemiro. So far he’s shown he can do a decent job as a hybrid 6/8 but he’s really a playmaking no8 with the all round ability to cover lots of roles and to contribute all over the pitch. He looks like a Jack of All Trades but will shine in the Eriksen role.

 

[jesperjaap]

He’s a lot better than Fred, just doesn’t have Fred’s engine. We should sign him permanently. At minimum he’s an upgrade on McFred, plus he offers adequate cover should any of Casemiro, Eriksen, or even Bruno be out. He has shown a consistency already that McFred struggles to achieve.

He is a decent player but doesnt offer enough defensively (though more than Eriksen) or offesnively (as Eriksen does). His positioning and consistency are much better thana Fred but personally dont think we should sign him permanently.

We have Fernandes and Eriksen shouod lbe further up for the 10 position, as well as possible othe roptions in Sancho and Hannibal and maybe other young players. I also think we already have the cover for Casemeiro in Mainoo...yes maybe young but VDB and McTominay are almost certainly going. I still think a creative box to box player who is also sound defensively is all we need to add to our midfield in the summer such as a Bellingham or ENzo type, wouldnt even be averse to Rice as I think he has more to show going forward than he has to this stage in his career. I would rather have faith in a couple of our youngsters has squad options next season than signing Sabitzer who will be nearign 30...and consistency, he has played 3times?....ok actually regarding McFred that is a fair comment haha

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Completely talking out of your arse in fairness. I don't even know what fecking point you are trying to make.

Anyway as to Sabitzer: Another good game. For a guy thrown in mid season in a new team he settled in really well.

Yup. Agreed. His performances have got better with each game he’s played. All you really need from a new signing. What is it with so many people being dense these days? The football fora seem like even more of a chore than usual. And we’re playing better than we have done in years. Go figure.

 

[lex talionis]

It seems an easy decision to sign Sabitzer to a contract and sell the woeful McTominay, provided Sabitzer would be willing to serve as a squad man at OT.

If not, there’s not much to discuss.

 

[Godfather]

Yup. Agreed. His performances have got better with each game he’s played. All you really need from a new signing. What is it with so many people being dense these days? The football fora seem like even more of a chore than usual. And we’re playing better than we have done in years. Go figure.

Yeah the mind boggles. The second half today was so good and enjoyable it's so weird to then see people come on here and shit on players like Wout and Sabitzer. Players we got for free in January. Don't know what people expected from them but I'm perfectly fine with what they bring. Wout was a bit anonymous at the start but this new role ETH found for him seem to work really well. Just needs bit more luck in front of goal.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yeah the mind boggles. The second half today was so good and enjoyable it's so weird to then see people come on here and shit on players like Wout and Sabitzer. Players we got for free in January. Don't know what people expected from them but I'm perfectly fine with what they bring. Wout was a bit anonymous at the start but this new role ETH found for him seem to work really well. Just needs bit more luck in front of goal.

Yup. And the old saying about better to be a striker who needs a few chances to score than a striker who doesn’t get chances will always be true.

 

[Borys]

Yeah the mind boggles. The second half today was so good and enjoyable it's so weird to then see people come on here and shit on players like Wout and Sabitzer. Players we got for free in January. Don't know what people expected from them but I'm perfectly fine with what they bring. Wout was a bit anonymous at the start but this new role ETH found for him seem to work really well. Just needs bit more luck in front of goal.

Woah, Sabitzer is getting only positive comments in here. Some people have reservations on how much of an upgrade he is on Fred, which is understandable.

He's not been very impressive but there are plenty of obvious reasons for that. He's been good though.

 

[RopersReturn]

Honestly he hasn't been that good. Was up and down in the first game and anonymous for 80 mins of the second.

Rubbish, he’s a quality player who’s only just joined us. Definitely worth keeping.

 

[11101]

I'm not totally convinced yet. He's a bit of a square peg for a round hole so far and too many times on an opposition counter attack he's nowhere to be seen. An upgrade on McTominay for sure but Casemiro and Fred are still out first choice midfield.

 

[Gerald G]

I'm not totally convinced yet. He's a bit of a square peg for a round hole so far and too many times on an opposition counter attack he's nowhere to be seen. An upgrade on McTominay for sure but Casemiro and Fred are still out first choice midfield.

He's been playing out of position - he's not a DM. Plus, he's better than Fred.

I think he's started well and must be tough for him to join mid-season like this. Would like to see more of him in the coming weeks especially alongside Casemiro

 

[RopersReturn]

I'm not totally convinced yet. He's a bit of a square peg for a round hole so far and too many times on an opposition counter attack he's nowhere to be seen. An upgrade on McTominay for sure but Casemiro and Fred are still out first choice midfield.

Nah, Casemiro sure but he’s world class where as Fred’s far too inconsistent. He’d be lucky to get into the Real Madrid B squad.

 

[Litch]

And he has 2 goals and 1 assist from 21 PL games, I want way more than that.

He instills panic when he skews his passing when being pressed, like earlier today and he passed straight to the Leicester player, you don't control games with players like him in CM. Very reliable? We've been terrible for 10 years, they've played apart of that, how are they valuable? I guess it depends what standards you expect.

This standards rhetoric is nonsense cause utd never played with 16 world class players even when we were winning everything. Also there isnt a player that didnt contribute to being terrible for that period, in fact its now proven that probably the managers contributed more.

On that note, everyone was given a clean slate under ETH including Rashford and Freds form has been pretty good when he plays with Cas. In fact when Cas doesnt play, all the other midfielders dont play as well.

You might want more but I guarantee that the players recognise the value of Fred to the team, as does the manager. In football there arent many players that do the dirty part of the game that often fans dont see but his peers do as does his managers.

Fred words, he carries the piano that hows those with the talent to play.

 

[Litch]

The Donny comparison is weird, I disliked Donny from the first games he played for us, he did absolutely nothing other than pass to the nearest man.

Sabitzer you can already see has quite a bit in his game - good passing range, physical, can turn under pressure.

It's not about new things - it's about evaluating players on their own merits. I still haven't really warmed to Antony for example.

Not weird at all, many thought Donny was the answer. Sab might be all of that, just think its far too early to call based on a couple of games.

 

[Litch]

Completely talking out of your arse in fairness. I don't even know what fecking point you are trying to make.

Anyway as to Sabitzer: Another good game. For a guy thrown in mid season in a new team he settled in really well.

Bit rude, think its called an opinion on a fan forum. I didnt write it thinking I hope fecking Godfather likes it.

 

[V.O.]

Bit rude, think its called an opinion on a fan forum. I didnt write it thinking I hope fecking Godfather likes it.

Trotting this out when your whole post was literally nothing but criticising other people's opinions.

 

[madzo2007]

I don't think hes a holding defensive midfielder. Be good to see him play next to Casemiro with a bit more freedom to get forward.

But he played well today, can tell he's getting up to speed with the PL, but it seems people expect instant impact these day or the player gets written off.