[Bwuk]

He'll break 20 league goals this season if he keeps this up.

I think that should be the aim for him. He's good enough to do it.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Just noticed he's not in the England squad. I just assumed he was given he's probably the best player in the league after 3 games. Good for us that he'll get some rest and no risk of injury, but what is Southgate thinking? He's taken a bunch of players who have hardly played this season.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Just noticed he's not in the England squad. I just assumed he was given he's probably the best player in the league after 3 games. Good for us that he'll get some rest and no risk of injury, but what is Southgate thinking? He's taken a bunch of players who have hardly played this season.

Carragher talked about it during the game and he couldn't understand. Southgate's loss, United's gain.

 

[OL29]

Just noticed he's not in the England squad. I just assumed he was given he's probably the best player in the league after 3 games. Good for us that he'll get some rest and no risk of injury, but what is Southgate thinking? He's taken a bunch of players who have hardly played this season.

I think Southgate said that he's been in constant contact with Greenwood and Ole and that they thought it was best that he stays at united for this international break, but he sees him as a future England player. Not really sure what that means but the rest will do him good.

 

[romufc]

Just noticed he's not in the England squad. I just assumed he was given he's probably the best player in the league after 3 games. Good for us that he'll get some rest and no risk of injury, but what is Southgate thinking? He's taken a bunch of players who have hardly played this season.

I don't see the big issue in this. Southgate is clearly in the Ole mould, fringe players like Greenwood will barely feature for England. I would rather him stay at United and rest and develop his game.

We all know Southgate would give him maximum 10 minutes over the period, with Kane fit, no chance Greenwood gets a look in. Too bad for England because he can play RW for them.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

I don't see the big issue in this. Southgate is clearly in the Ole mould, fringe players like Greenwood will barely feature for England. I would rather him stay at United and rest and develop his game.

We all know Southgate would give him maximum 10 minutes over the period, with Kane fit, no chance Greenwood gets a look in. Too bad for England because he can play RW for them.

He probably would've played in this break because there's three games and the middle one is against Andorra so there will be a lot of rotation in that game. The options for England are on the thinner side too with Foden and Rashford missing. Calvert-Lewin has withdrawn too. It means that Sancho is likely to get meaningful game time at least.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Think it's more the case he's started well and they don't want any more distractions or disruptions.

Maybe he enjoys being a bit wild outside of the United camp? better to keep his head screwed on while he matures.

Think the stats are something like 8 goals in 10 since last season, so he's doing great recently.

 

[pratyush_utd]

9 Goals in his last 11 league game. 3 in 3 this season. If he keeps clear of injuries, he is going to break all sorts of record for us.

 

[FerociousCorgis]

i like how he plays when he can attack the goal. Feel like out wide he can get a bit isolated and float out of games. Be interesting to see how he fits with ronaldo coming.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Think it's more the case he's started well and they don't want any more distractions or disruptions.

He had a bit of a rough year last season with the Iceland incident, his mate at City dying and the false rumours going round that he was questioned for the crime that it transpires Mendy is alleged of committing. He lost form for a lot of the season with all that stuff going on. I think Ole and Southgate decided that he needs to take things a bit slower.

 

[romufc]

He probably would've played in this break because there's three games and the middle one is against Andorra so there will be a lot of rotation in that game. The options for England are on the thinner side too with Foden and Rashford missing. Calvert-Lewin has withdrawn too. It means that Sancho is likely to get meaningful game time at least.

It seems to me that there is a deliberate introduction to every level for Greenwood and its mainly driven by Ole.

He is very keen to protect and nurture him into one of the best forwards.

We have seen the way he integrated him into the team, alot of Europa, League cup and 10 mins of prem games at the start, then slowly getting him to start, then playing him as a 9 in games.

He has been very careful, we saw what happened last time he was on England duty as well, he took a while to regain his form after that.

For me, its not big if he isn't selected this time because I am pretty sure, he will be one of England's key players in years to come.

 

[DWelbz19]

All our wide players should improve their work rate, at least the ones who will be staying at club.

This table shows how poor our young players are when it comes to work rate.

	Position	Pressures	Percentile
James	Winger	21.59​	94​
Bruno	Attacking mid	21.46​	93​
Lingard	Winger	21.14​	90​
Cavani	Forward	15.44​	64​
Greenwood	Winger	12.78​	22​
Martial	Forward	10.39​	12​
Rashford	Winger	11.06​	10​
Sancho	Winger	10.76​	8​
Ronaldo	Forward	6.69​	1​

Feck me. No wonder Fred has to cover so much ground every game. Don’t think there’s a DM in the game who could compensate for playing two wide players who are that much worse than all their peers at helping the defence.

Those stats also show why James gets so many games. One winger who doesn’t defend can be carried but not two at once.

Decided to check and compare with our rivals instead of doing work for 10 mins:

City (Percentile only):
Foden - 60
De Bruyne - 59
Jesus - 55
Bernardo - 50
Torres - 40
Mahrez - 28
Grealish - 21
Sterling - 6

Liverpool:
Jota - 94
Firmino - 88
Salah - 51
Mane - 40

Chelsea:
Mount - 91
Ziyech - 70
Pulisic - 71
Havertz - 43
Werner - 29
Lukaku - 6

TLDR: we got some right lazy bastards in attack.

 

[roonster09]

Decided to check and compare with our rivals instead of doing work for 10 mins:

City (Percentile only):
Foden - 60
De Bruyne - 59
Jesus - 55
Bernardo - 50
Torres - 40
Mahrez - 28
Grealish - 21
Sterling - 6

Liverpool:
Jota - 94
Firmino - 88
Salah - 51
Mane - 40

Chelsea:
Mount - 91
Ziyech - 70
Pulisic - 71
Havertz - 43
Werner - 29
Lukaku - 6

TLDR: we got some right lazy bastards in attack.

Yeah I checked it few months ago, it wasn't a good read at all. We have to improve as a team on lot of things, including pressing/work rate.

 

[Ayoba]

Not that I care, but seriously how the feck is he not in the England squad yet lingard is? What is southgate smoking?

 

[Classical Mechanic]

For me, its not big if he isn't selected this time because I am pretty sure, he will be one of England's key players in years to come.

It's not big at all. Both Ole and Southgate have said that they spoke about it and decided between them that it was best for him at this point.

 

[tenpoless]

Im glad Southgate doesnt pick him. He ruined every United forward he touched.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Decided to check and compare with our rivals instead of doing work for 10 mins:

City (Percentile only):
Foden - 60
De Bruyne - 59
Jesus - 55
Bernardo - 50
Torres - 40
Mahrez - 28
Grealish - 21
Sterling - 6

Liverpool:
Jota - 94
Firmino - 88
Salah - 51
Mane - 40

Chelsea:
Mount - 91
Ziyech - 70
Pulisic - 71
Havertz - 43
Werner - 29
Lukaku - 6

TLDR: we got some right lazy bastards in attack.

Yikes. Makes you wonder what the DMs at their clubs would look like at United. Be a rude awakening that’s for damn sure!

 

[united_99]

Yikes. Makes you wonder what the DMs at their clubs would look like at United. Be a rude awakening that’s for damn sure!

Also makes all the crybaby posts in the match day threads about Ole being negative whenever he starts McFred a complete joke.
What else is he supposed to do when our attacking starting players (apart from Bruno and Cavani) are incredibly lazy.

 

[Jacky Quacky]

Also makes all the crybaby posts in the match day threads about Ole being negative whenever he starts McFred a complete joke.
What else is he supposed to do when our attacking starting players (apart from Bruno and Cavani) are incredibly lazy.

Make them work harder? I don’t think someone like pep would put up with their laziness

 

[united_99]

Make them work harder? I don’t think someone like pep would put up with their laziness

Nope, he would just drop Sterling and play one of his other attackers instead.

 

[JPB]

I read somewhere that Ole and Southgate had a long conversation about Greenwood the other day. They both think it's better for his development to concentrate on United at the moment. He is very much in Southgate's plans though.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

I don't see the big issue in this. Southgate is clearly in the Ole mould, fringe players like Greenwood will barely feature for England. I would rather him stay at United and rest and develop his game.

We all know Southgate would give him maximum 10 minutes over the period, with Kane fit, no chance Greenwood gets a look in. Too bad for England because he can play RW for them.

Greenwood literally shouldn’t be a fringe player for England though. He’s one of the best attackers in the country already. I certainly can’t see a better option on that RW I mean we literally had Saka there and he’s half the talent.

 

[romufc]

Greenwood literally shouldn’t be a fringe player for England though. He’s one of the best attackers in the country already. I certainly can’t see a better option on that RW I mean we literally had Saka there and he’s half the talent.

Well that is in your eyes and perhaps me too however; in Southgate's mind its different. He will play Mason Mount RW over Greenwood.

 

[Kaizane]

You can see the shackles are off with Greenwood and he's playing with a lot more self-belief and confidence, it's only going to be a good thing.

If I were Ole I'd reward him as a starter for most games, rotate Ronaldo and Cavani at CF and the perfect storm has transpired for the rotation of Sancho and Rash. It takes the pressure off Sancho a little and Rash isn't worked like a racehorse after surgery as to avoid a re-occurrence or further injuries.

Basically for me, Greenwood is one of the first attacking names on the teamsheet right now, with plenty of cover for when he needs resting.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Well that is in your eyes and perhaps me too however; in Southgate's mind its different. He will play Mason Mount RW over Greenwood.

Which is why he’s a pretty poor manager to be honest! Fortunately I think he will perform so strongly this year he will be difficult to ignore!

 

[11101]

Only if our aim to play that way where that's our CF's job, I really hope it's not.

I think Greenwood's future should be more as a central striker who pulls wide, a bit like Henry would do, and attacks the CB/FB channels or drops in to receive the ball on the turn. This, in my mind, makes sense given how advanced Bruno usually plays anyway & plays to Greenwood's strengths which are standing up a defender before getting a shot off/shooting after coming in from either side.

Problem now is Ronaldo has to start as a 9 given his age so will Greenwood be his sub or will he go RW and move Sancho to the LW....feel like Greenwood should start as 9 until he has a bad game as he should be our priority.

However we play, when we play the ball to our forward line it needs to stick there instead of coming straight back. At the moment Greenwood isn't capable of doing that.

 

[horsechoker]

In fact, he will reach exactly 38 goals if he keeps his current goals to games ratio.

Not only that but if adds two extra goals he'll be the first player to score 40 league goals


Anything less is failure in my opinion

 

[tomaldinho1]

However we play, when we play the ball to our forward line it needs to stick there instead of coming straight back. At the moment Greenwood isn't capable of doing that.

I think he’s not far off where he need to be when you think of his age for a much more fluid system. It’d be such a waste if we try to bulk him out and develop him into a back to goal striker.

 

[11101]

I think he’s not far off where he need to be when you think of his age for a much more fluid system. It’d be such a waste if we try to bulk him out and develop him into a back to goal striker.

He's 19, nobody is expecting him to be the finished article. We still need to win our games though and Greenwood isn't ready for a 38 game season yet.

 

[tomaldinho1]

He's 19, nobody is expecting him to be the finished article. We still need to win our games though and Greenwood isn't ready for a 38 game season yet.

3 goals in 3 apps and generally been amongst the better if not best player on the pitch in all three games...I get he'll be displaced by Ronaldo but part of me thinks if we want him to be up there with the best in the world, we should back him more and just give him max game time. Ronnie coming back means we have to win something major this season though.

 

[sideshowbob]

When do we reckon he’s breaking Rooneys and Shearers/Kanes records?

 

[Hoof the ball]

I'm slightly confused as to why Greenwood is not standing over freekicks with Bruno, instead of Fred. Fred is a terrible decoy. Why? Because everyone knows he's not going to shoot. A decoy is meant to keep the opposition keeper guessing. No keeper guesses with Fred around the ball. He isn't going to take it, end of story. Add to the fact that Greenwood is a demonstrably better shooter outside the box and a better direct free-kick taker (See free-kick compilation from U23's/U18's for proof of this). He simply has a better free-kick to goal ratio.

 

[Offside]

20+ goals for him this season. What a talent. That first half effort just wide reminded me of RVP.

 

[Kaos]

Not that I care, but seriously how the feck is he not in the England squad yet lingard is? What is southgate smoking?

Well that's the thing, we shouldn't care. We can permanently transfer JLingz to England for the whole season for all I care, so long as we're keeping Greenwood fresh.

 

[Adam-Utd]

I'm slightly confused as to why Greenwood is not standing over freekicks with Bruno, instead of Fred. Fred is a terrible decoy. Why? Because everyone knows he's not going to shoot. A decoy is meant to keep the opposition keeper guessing. No keeper guesses with Fred around the ball. He isn't going to take it, end of story. Add to the fact that Greenwood is a demonstrably better shooter outside the box and a better direct free-kick taker (See free-kick compilation from U23's/U18's for proof of this). He simply has a better free-kick to goal ratio.

Confidence and maybe squad standing? You rarely walk into a team as a rookie and take set pieces.

It's a good sign though that he's started taking corners so they recognise he has good technique. I suspect he might have to wait a while though with Pogba/Fernandes/Ronaldo around.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

He had a bit of a rough year last season with the Iceland incident, his mate at City dying and the false rumours going round that he was questioned for the crime that it transpires Mendy is alleged of committing. He lost form for a lot of the season with all that stuff going on. I think Ole and Southgate decided that he needs to take things a bit slower.

It show fantastic mental strength after all that happening so recently to start this season like he has, ignoring his obvious talent and ability he has the cojones to be a superstar for us.

 

[keener]

Greenwood is undroppable at this moment. He has to stay in our lineup along with Ronaldo and hopefully Cavani for a bit. Hopefully Lingard and Rashford and Sancho make selection difficult with their good play as well.

 

[Red Shorts]

In fact, he will reach exactly 38 goals if he keeps his current goals to games ratio.

How did you work that one out?

 

[izec]

Based on performances and form, he should stay in the starting team obviously. Dont disrupt the momentum, as time will come he will be inconsistent and need a break, then you can throw someone else in and rotate.

 

[Kaos]

Based on performances and form, he should stay in the starting team obviously. Dont disrupt the momentum, as time will come he will be inconsistent and need a break, then you can throw someone else in and rotate.

I don't expect him to get dropped anytime soon. He definitely gets in ahead of Sancho on current form, and Dan James has gone so I can see him starting our next few games with Ronaldo, until Rashford gets fit again or Sancho starts to improve to the player we expect him to be.