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2019-20 Performances

View full 2019-20 profile

5.9 Season Average Rating
Appearances
49
Goals
17
Assists
4
Yellow cards
0
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Rozay said:
Well this bit isn’t true. Martial is very comfortable taking the shot on with his left foot. It’s an area of his game that has notably been worked on over the last 12 months. He scored the winner in the derby on his left.
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Fair enough, there's been exceptions, like the one you mention, but he usually looks to shift it right more often than not IMO. He did it a couple of times today and got tackled, when it looked easier to go round the outside. Even when it does fall on his right, he often wants one or two touches too many, like the one vs Wolves last week, and he ended up having the ball kicked against him and out for a goal kick because he dithered.

Personally I prefer him running at defenders rather than as a 9.
 
Far from ready at all. Struggled to impose himself even against Tranmere.
 
I have watched him play the CF role a few times. Is it me or he lacks movement? He is always walking, when the ball is in the opposition half he isnt making any runs where someone can find him?
 
Man City 0:1 Man Utd
Poor performance. Kept losing possession, couldn't adapt to City's pressing.
 
Even at this tender age Ole has to realise what Mason is, and what he's not. There's certain things which will undoubtedly improve, however, him playing on the right only minimises his strengths and accentuates his weaknesses. He's instinctual anywhere near the box, but the problem is that Ole's system has him too far from goal at any point. His pure instinct and movement has resulted in him scoring lots in spite of the tactical set-up mostly working against him. I understand that playing on the wing is part of his development in order to improve his overall game, which is fine, but there needs to be better tactical solutions to get him more time on the ball.
 
Hoof The Ball said:
Even at this tender age Ole has to realise what Mason is, and what he's not. There's certain things which will undoubtedly improve, however, him playing on the right only minimises his strengths and accentuates his weaknesses. He's instinctual anywhere near the box, but the problem is that Ole's system has him too far from goal at any point. His pure instinct and movement has resulted in him scoring lots in spite of the tactical set-up mostly working against him. I understand that playing on the wing is part of his development in order to improve his overall game, which is fine, but there needs to be better tactical solutions to get him more time on the ball.
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Playing him out wide is by definition the best tactical solution to giving him more time on the ball. He's absolutely got the ability to be a playmaker so I can see why we're not playing him in a position where he'll only get a handful of touches in a half

Judging him on a 45 minutes away to City when he was injured is daft anyway
 
Hoof The Ball said:
Even at this tender age Ole has to realise what Mason is, and what he's not. There's certain things which will undoubtedly improve, however, him playing on the right only minimises his strengths and accentuates his weaknesses. He's instinctual anywhere near the box, but the problem is that Ole's system has him too far from goal at any point. His pure instinct and movement has resulted in him scoring lots in spite of the tactical set-up mostly working against him. I understand that playing on the wing is part of his development in order to improve his overall game, which is fine, but there needs to be better tactical solutions to get him more time on the ball.
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I think that's a slight cop out. The problem I've seen with Greenwood is he often goes missing due to a complete lack of purpose in his movement, particularly in pressing the opposition.

I don't think anyone can blame tactics for a player drifting around the pitch, not pressing, struggling with his control and also his passing. He kind of floats about the pitch without any grave purpose (coming alive when given the ball 20 yards out). Absolutely understandable given his age of course, especially as it's exacerbated when Martial is also playing as he has the same problem.

The only way he'll get more time on the ball is getting more actively involved in the game. Which hopefully will come with time and confidence.
 
charlenefan said:
Playing him out wide is by definition the best tactical solution to giving him more time on the ball. He's absolutely got the ability to be a playmaker so I can see why we're not playing him in a position where he'll only get a handful of touches in a half

Judging him on a 45 minutes away to City when he was injured is daft anyway
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Nearly all of Greenwood's balls are square. He rarely makes incisive forward balls between lines. Calling him a playmaker is overstating it. What he is, is incredibly adept at moving off the ball and finding space once he's circulated it to a close-by teammate.

Also, at no point did I write that this was my opinion based on 45 minutes. That's your assumption.
 
He is not ready yet. He has a lot of work to do, which isn't weird considering his age.

Give him a tiny bit of space and he'll score. But sometimes the opposition will nullify you completely so you need to create that space yourself. He doesn't get involved in the general play as much as you'd like.

If coached correctly, if Ole manages to keep him motivated, he can become a very good player in a couple years.
 
finneh said:
I think that's a slight cop out. The problem I've seen with Greenwood is he often goes missing due to a complete lack of purpose in his movement, particularly in pressing the opposition.

I don't think anyone can blame tactics for a player drifting around the pitch, not pressing, struggling with his control and also his passing. He kind of floats about the pitch without any grave purpose (coming alive when given the ball 20 yards out). Absolutely understandable given his age of course, especially as it's exacerbated when Martial is also playing as he has the same problem.

The only way he'll get more time on the ball is getting more actively involved in the game. Which hopefully will come with time and confidence.
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I agree with your sentiments, although, regarding pressing that is in some part tactical. I think we have a tendency to see pressing as individualistic rather than collective. What makes for effective pressing as an individual is that all players in any given area are drilled into doing it with some degree of synchronicity. Can you really blame Greenwood for a non-aggressive press when Lingard isn't pressing the opposition DM or CB, nor is Martial? Poor collective pressing can make individuals look lazier than they really are.
 
Hoof The Ball said:
I agree with your sentiments, although, regarding pressing that is in some part tactical. I think we have a tendency to see pressing as individualistic rather than collective. What makes for effective pressing as an individual is that all players in any given area are drilled into doing it with some degree of synchronicity. Can you really blame Greenwood for a non-aggressive press when Lingard isn't pressing the opposition DM or CB, nor is Martial? Poor collective pressing can make individuals look lazier than they really are.
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Absolutely agreed on the collective side but the likes of Fred, Rashford and James manage it much better; he should be trying to emulate them rather than Martial.

Hopefully it's a time thing rather than him seeing himself as not that kind of player (as I can't think of a great forward apart from Messi who can become top class without that quality).
 
finneh said:
Absolutely agreed on the collective side but the likes of Fred, Rashford and James manage it much better; he should be trying to emulate them rather than Martial.

Hopefully it's a time thing rather than him seeing himself as not that kind of player (as I can't think of a great forward apart from Messi who can become top class without that quality).
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You know, if we had any kind of collective front-three coordinated press, Rashford's immense pressing ability would be rewarded, but all I ever see is Rashford busting his ass off sprinting down the goalkeeper and there's no support press behind him to cover the goalkeepers passing options. All that effort from Rashford wasted. It really does frustrate me to see how casual Martial is off the ball.
 
This is what coaches mean when they say young players are inconsistent, they have a lot of learning to do. He'll bag a goal next time he plays. He's developing well and going in the right direction, our expectations are too high on these young lads sometimes.
 
crossy1686 said:
This is what coaches mean when they say young players are inconsistent, they have a lot of learning to do. He'll bag a goal next time he plays. He's developing well and going in the right direction, our expectations are too high on these young lads sometimes.
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Maybe he has just hit the proverbial 'Wall' in his first season in the 1st team.
 
Not ready? He's got 10 goals of course he's ready. Doesn't mean he won't have poor performances.
 
Shock horror a 18 year old striker having a bad game against one of the best teams around. Yeah definitely not ready this guy, we never should have given him the chance, he should have been sent on loan in the Championship.
 
Tarrou said:
Not ready? He's got 10 goals of course he's ready. Doesn't mean he won't have poor performances.
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Physically he’s not, which has and will show on occasion. Otamendi is an aggressive, positive defender and was happy to track and stay tight to Greenwood moving wide or deeper and he couldn’t cope.
 
Not sure why Ole even played him in this game when City struggle with pace in behind. Mason is a fantastic finisher but still has a lot to work on in his game. The season has already been a resounding success for him but he's not a Rooney or Mbappe where they're ready out of the box at 17.
 
Hoof The Ball said:
You know, if we had any kind of collective front-three coordinated press, Rashford's immense pressing ability would be rewarded, but all I ever see is Rashford busting his ass off sprinting down the goalkeeper and there's no support press behind him to cover the goalkeepers passing options. All that effort from Rashford wasted. It really does frustrate me to see how casual Martial is off the ball.
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You're spot on. Hopefully Fernandes will be smarter than Lingard in at least pressing the opposition holding midfielder. However it's a concern that pressing as a team isn't being trained.
 
So all those saying 'not ready', wondering how many of them were earlier saying he should be starting more games than he has been.

Classical Mechanic said:
Not sure why Ole even played him in this game when City struggle with pace in behind. Mason is a fantastic finisher but still has a lot to work on in his game. The season has already been a resounding success for him but he's not a Rooney or Mbappe where they're ready out of the box at 17.
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Who would you have played instead?
 
Games like yesterday are the kind of experience that in the end will be good for him. It’s a reality check that shows him he still has a way to go. If we just play him in the easier games, and he gets his goal or assist, it breeds complacency, like he has already made it. It’s like playing younger players with an older age group. Some games they will just disappear, but it’s the best way to learn what they need to work on to succeed at a higher level. The question is do we have the patience to accept some occasional anonymous performances for his development.
 
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Classical Mechanic said:
James.
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They both had a half each. James even had an advantage in that aspect, but did nothing more so it wasnt a glaring obvious mistake going with one or the other.
At least Mason has the threat of a goal which James doesnt have right now.
 
I don't understand why he isn't chosen to take all our freekicks and most set pieces around the box. His feet is what sets him apart, despite his game being rough at this level.
 
Good grief there is an awful lot of negativity about all our players, even Mason who is one of our most promising players in years and isn't long turned 18. Wait till he scores an important goal for us again and everyone will be drooling over him again. I hope for Bruno's sake he never has a bad game for us cause if he does all hell is gonna break loose.
 
11 goals in his first season as a first team player. Could see him hitting 15.

His goal today was a cracker.
 
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