[Ballache]

Ever since Ronaldo came, Greenwood is getting harsher treatment because isn't 100% sacrificing his game for a 36 old CF. Ronaldo plays like shit - he gets no service, can't blame him, Greenwood is consistently our best forward - that one time he didn't pass to Ronaldo/Bruno means he isnt developing or a team player.

Greenwood has been the main spark of our attack this season. Where he should do better is work rate off the ball but on the ball he's been really good. For some he's got a target on his head though.

Excellent post.
I fully agree! For all the stars we have, academy product Mason Greenwood has been our best player this season alongside DDG IMO.

 

[Powderfinger]

Greenwood has been fantastic in some respects this season. But I think he is also a problem of sorts. He’s a right wing who offers zero width, he doesn’t work hard out of possession, and he doesn’t help much in the build up. All that could also be said of Mo Salah, but the Liverpool team is built to allow Salah more than any other player to do that specialized role. United already have 2-4 other guys on the pitch (Ronaldo, Bruno, Pogba, Rashford at times) who want the team built around them in different ways

You can only fit so many players like that into a side before there is zero balance and everything looks dysfunctional.

I wouldn’t blame Greenwood at all for trying to play his game but United are really calling out for one member of their front four to be a functional, selfless player who contributes in the buildup, sticks to his position and role rather than demanding freedom, defends relentlessly, and doesn’t worry so much about his goal contribution.

 

[cletus7]

The annoying thing is he can do so so much more. But again remember how young he is, remember how thoroughly infuriating Ronaldo was as a youngster.

Greenwood wasn’t that sort of infuriating youngster. It seems he’s going in the wrong direction with decision making becoming poorer. How does that even happen?

 

[caid]

I find it weird that people are talking about him as one of the bright spots of the team this season. He's part of the reason our general play is so, so poor. Its not his fault obviously and he's making a decent case to get the nod over Ronaldo or Pogba and so on which is incredible for a player of his experience but i wouldn't be singling him out for praise

 

[OL29]

I find it weird that people are talking about him as one of the bright spots of the team this season. He's part of the reason our general play is so, so poor. Its not his fault obviously and he's making a decent case to get the nod over Ronaldo or Pogba and so on which is incredible for a player of his experience but i wouldn't be singling him out for praise

I think that’s harsh, we all accept that Sancho struggles due to the lack of support and cohesion in attack, and I think the same can be said for Greenwood. Fortunately he’s able to inject some pace and purpose into attack by himself, the only attacker we’ve had capable of this until Rashford’s return yesterday. He’s made a few poor decisions and I’d like to see more variety in his movement but he’s feeding off scraps at the moment, and having to force the issue, so it’s not surprising.

 

[caid]

I think that’s harsh, we all accept that Sancho struggles due to the lack of support and cohesion in attack, and I think the same can be said for Greenwood. Fortunately he’s able to inject some pace and purpose into attack by himself, the only attacker we’ve had capable of this until Rashford’s return yesterday. He’s made a few poor decisions and I’d like to see more variety in his movement but he’s feeding off scraps at the moment, and having to force the issue, so it’s not surprising.

He doesn't need to force the issue. Thats 90% of the problem. Its the kind of player he is, its what he excels at but were desperate for someone in our front line to just put their foot on the ball and play a few simple passes to move the defence around and stop trying the outrageous every time they touch the ball.

 

[OL29]

He doesn't need to force the issue. Thats 90% of the problem. Its the kind of player he is, its what he excels at but were desperate for someone in our front line to just put their foot on the ball and play a few simple passes to move the defence around and stop trying the outrageous every time they touch the ball.

I think Sancho was brought in for that, to add balance to the frontline but it’s pointless when the whole attack is static when someone else is on the ball.

 

[EtH]

I find it weird that people are talking about him as one of the bright spots of the team this season. He's part of the reason our general play is so, so poor. Its not his fault obviously and he's making a decent case to get the nod over Ronaldo or Pogba and so on which is incredible for a player of his experience but i wouldn't be singling him out for praise

Weird that anyone would praise our best attacker so far this season rather than blaming him for our poor play as a team particularly in midfield ?

Have a word with yourself.

 

[UncleBob]

It's a bizarre cycle that players go through, praise for barely being involved in a match. There's plenty of reasons for it, and it has very little to do with his talent or potential, but he was poor against Leicester. His overall involvement is close to zero, wondergoal excluded. I have little doubt he'll evolve into a class player, but the notion he's been good recently needs to be buried.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Should be Greenwood or Ronaldo not both, they are both selfish players that don’t link up particularly well, and until Greenwood works harder he should be threatened his place in the team. Mbappé said he’d work a lot harder to cover for Messi at PSG, so I don’t see why Greenwood can’t at United for Ronaldo.

Otherwise we need to play Sancho at that right wing spot, who knows how to play as a winger. Greenwood deserves to play a lot more as the striker but for team balance, his right wing spot is causing problems at the moment.

 

[AltiUn]

Should be Greenwood or Ronaldo not both, they are both selfish players that don’t link up particularly well, and until Greenwood works harder he should be threatened his place in the team. Mbappé said he’d work a lot harder to cover for Messi at PSG, so I don’t see why Greenwood can’t at United for Ronaldo.

Otherwise we need to play Sancho at that right wing spot, who knows how to play as a winger. Greenwood deserves to play a lot more as the striker but for team balance, his right wing spot is causing problems at the moment.

Greenwood's one of the only players actually scoring, there's simply no way we can afford to take him out of the team.

 

[Remember the geese]

until Greenwood works harder he should be threatened his place in the team.

How about until Ronaldo works harder he should be threatened his place in the team? The entire front three need to work a lot harder. We can't afford any passengers. We shouldn't be persevering with Pogba either. Not least because of the poor tactical fit, but also because he doesn't have any interest in staying with us.

 

[DWelbz19]

Greenwood has been fantastic in some respects this season. But I think he is also a problem of sorts. He’s a right wing who offers zero width, he doesn’t work hard out of possession, and he doesn’t help much in the build up. All that could also be said of Mo Salah, but the Liverpool team is built to allow Salah more than any other player to do that specialized role. United already have 2-4 other guys on the pitch (Ronaldo, Bruno, Pogba, Rashford at times) who want the team built around them in different ways

You can only fit so many players like that into a side before there is zero balance and everything looks dysfunctional.

I wouldn’t blame Greenwood at all for trying to play his game but United are really calling out for one member of their front four to be a functional, selfless player who contributes in the buildup, sticks to his position and role rather than demanding freedom, defends relentlessly, and doesn’t worry so much about his goal contribution.

Yep. The team is hideously unbalanced - Pogba and Sancho are very similar wingers - come short, lazily track back, link-up and create. Bruno covers ground, but he's basically a free floater who gets the pitch to wander wherever he wants without positional discipline. Ronaldo is a non-moving poacher. Greenwood is a straight up wide forward, with special emphasis on the forward part. Greenwood would probably be the one I drop last, mind.

We don't miss his quality at all, but Dan James had the right sort of profile you need with so many players like we have. The most 'balanced' attack we could probably run at the moment would probably look something like:

Cavani
Lingard - Bruno - Greenwood​

(Or Rashford left wing, Lingard right).

​

'Something has to give' - but I don't see Ole benching Ronaldo, Sancho, Pogba, and one of Rashford/Greenwood. There's just too much star status in this side.

 

[bosnian_red]

Greenwood is just at that stage of his development where he's a bit of a beast but at the same time, incredibly frustrating decision making. But he does so much so well and you know he's well on his way to being world class. Just that last point before he puts it all together on a week to week basis, but as of now he is too selfish or chooses the wrong moments to shoot or pass.

 

[Tony247]

Greenwood's one of the only players actually scoring, there's simply no way we can afford to take him out of the team.

He is playing as a winger and winger needs to connect, provide for the team, apart from scoring goals when opportunity arise. Greenwood can score some brilliant individual goals but he has developed a tendency to go solo most of the time when there can be better options. Surprisingly he was better at team game last season. This season I watch him and think like he is in shooting training. Get the ball and bang! This type of game can be better if he is playing CF, but definitely not as a winger. It is painful to see a winger acting as a CF and trying to trigger a bullet every now and then, and practically wasting an attacking move. He can score some goals but he will not benefit the team the way he should.

It is not entirely his fault though. Ole insist on playing him as RW then he should train him to play like RW.

 

[Foxbatt]

He is playing as a winger and winger needs to connect, provide for the team, apart from scoring goals when opportunity arise. Greenwood can score some brilliant individual goals but he has developed a tendency to go solo most of the time when there can be better options. Surprisingly he was better at team game last season. This season I watch him and think like he is in shooting training. Get the ball and bang! This type of game can be better if he is playing CF, but definitely not as a winger. It is painful to see a winger acting as a CF and trying to trigger a bullet every now and then, and practically wasting an attacking move. He can score some goals but he will not benefit the team the way he should.

It is not entirely his fault though. Ole insist on playing him as RW then he should train him to play like RW.

Agree with you especially seeing the way he presses. He just jogs. Sancho actually presses the best. If Bruno is pressing the keeper and Sancho is pressing their ride side, Greenwood is just walking about. He would never do that under SAF. He would get a right old bollocking right then and there wonder goal or not.

 

[RooneyLegend]

We need him somewhere in the front two. Those two shouldn't be playing together since all they do most of the time is give the ball away. Play someone there who can atleast hang on to the ball.

 

[Strelok]

United are really calling out for one member of their front four to be a functional, selfless player who contributes in the buildup, sticks to his position and role rather than demanding freedom, defends relentlessly, and doesn’t worry so much about his goal contribution.

Cavani.

 

[CloneMC16]

Greenwood now is basically what Ronaldo was in 2005 for us. Pretty good player and on the upward curve, but there are still some pretty frustrating parts of his game on show. I still think he's easily been our best attacking player this season. We're not performing as a team and rely on individual brilliance. We're getting some of that from Greenwood. Ironically, Ronaldo now understands how frustrated Ruud was when he had to play with a young wing forward that didn't want to create for him.

I know that you usually would expect a winger to be creating for the striker, but Greenwood is a striker. It's not much different with Rashford. Both want to cut inside and shoot first. I think if you try and ask Greenwood to start creating for Ronaldo, you're limiting his own game. We bought Sancho to create.

Ole is likely going to have to bench some of these star players. It's hard to imagine him benching Ronaldo, but based on what he said, it would probably make the most sense for it to be him. If Greenwood continues to play, he will have to do more defensive work. Greenwood is a young lad and likely has a decent amount of energy. You would expect him to take up some of the slack.

 

[LoneStar]

Playing him and Ronaldo together seems to be causing major issues. Both don't press at all, and they don't link up well. Both want to score and neither can create that well.

Should we try him in a more central position? I think he played central in some match, but his hold up play is lacking. But the manager needs to figure out how to play both of them (or have the balls to drop one of them), cause it's not working atm. Supremely talented player, who needs to be coached better.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Such a shame his goal wasn't a match winner, it'll likely be forgotten now.

He's got such a crisp strike when he catches it cleanly. Shame it all went pear shaped after.

 

[SonyaCross493]

Greenwood isn't a winger. 0 assists this season proves that. We are asking him do a job he can't do.

Greenwood is our future number 9 in the next few years. He has time on his side to wait and play a lesser role for a few seasons. Let him sit and watch Ronaldo how he conducts himself on and off the pitch his movement, desire, preparation etc. And once Ronaldo leaves Greenwood will get his chance to play number 9 regularly.

That's why I would drop Greenwood and play Sancho on the right who can whip in first-time crosses with his right-foot to take advantage of Ronaldo's heaving ability which is underused for United currently. I think that would make us more fluid in the attack and have more control of the game. Sometimes you need to play the best team not all the best attacking players.

 

[snk123]

Greenwood now is basically what Ronaldo was in 2005 for us. Pretty good player and on the upward curve, but there are still some pretty frustrating parts of his game on show. I still think he's easily been our best attacking player this season. We're not performing as a team and rely on individual brilliance. We're getting some of that from Greenwood.

We're not getting "some" of that and Ronaldo was nowhere near what Greenwood is doing. Greenwood takes shots from impossible angles, every single time! Ronaldo used to delay the pass because of his insistence on trickery. There is a huge difference between the two and you should observe it today (if Greenwood is as selfish as he has been this season)

 

[CloneMC16]

We're not getting "some" of that and Ronaldo was nowhere near what Greenwood is doing. Greenwood takes shots from impossible angles, every single time! Ronaldo used to delay the pass because of his insistence on trickery. There is a huge difference between the two and you should observe it today (if Greenwood is as selfish as he has been this season)

I mean, we are? Two of the goals Greenwood has scored have been individual brilliance. He has also created other shooting opportunities for himself. Ronaldo took shots from impossible angles quite often. I watched him shoot multiple times a game and put the ball into row Z. Ronaldo delayed the pass and kept shooting himself. Greenwood has been selfish. I completely agree with that. Ronaldo was also selfish at his age.

 

[snk123]

I mean, we are? Two of the goals Greenwood has scored have been individual brilliance. He has also created other shooting opportunities for himself. Ronaldo took shots from impossible angles quite often. I watched him shoot multiple times a game and put the ball into row Z. Ronaldo delayed the pass and kept shooting himself. Greenwood has been selfish. I completely agree with that. Ronaldo was also selfish at his age.

Yes Ronaldo was but he was continuously improving his decision making. Mason has gone backwards this season for some reason. That blame completely lies with the coaching setup - it's as if he's being told to shoot on sight - that instruction should only be for the striker, not a winger. Mason has been extremely greedy.

 

[Remember the geese]

Mason has gone backwards this season for some reason.

I don't think he has gone backwards. I think this perceived selfishness is a result of him taking on more responsibility. Instead of playing the safe option, he is taking more risks and is reaping the rewards for that as well as receiving criticism that comes with not always getting the balance right.

 

[cletus7]

Passing today was world class, I felt.

 

[UncleBob]

Mature solid performance.

That’s the pre-agreed verdict, isn’t it

 

[acnumber9]

Good first half but nothing much second half. Cost me £113 by not having one of his trademark punts at goal.

 

[spiriticon]

If he doesn't thundercnut it into the net, he doesn't contribute a lot. So much work to do.

 

[UncleBob]

Good first half but nothing much second half. Cost me £113 by not having one of his trademark punts at goal.

Equally good halfs

 

[acnumber9]

Equally good halfs

Alright then. It’s halves though.

 

[saivet]

Feel he really needs to work harder off the ball. Wasn't too impressed with his performance tonight. He's still a goal threat but feel he needs to offer more.

 

[Rajma]

Lazy performance and shouldn’t be happening at such a young age.

 

[Lash]

Was alright, if rashford was 100%, think he would have been off first. He's going to have to start working harder off the ball if he's going to stay in the side.

 

[Giggsyking]

Him and Ronaldo cant play together. He is too passive in his pressing.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Passing and link up play was very good at times but his work rate and off the ball attacking play was poor.

 

[Devil may care]

Some nice touches, he's sch a good footaller, I'd love to see him in a cohesively coached attack.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

I really think Greenwood needs to be dropped from right wing for the team to function at its best, probably no coincidence that United scored two when he came off and Sancho offered actual width. He doesn't press enough and plays right wing like a striker. We already have an out-and-out striker in Ronaldo, we don't need a second.

 

[Banana Republic]

There were a number of times in both the first and second half’s, when Ronaldo, or Rashford we’re attacking or breaking into the box on the left and Greenwood failed to make any sort of run towards goal or the far post.
It was remarked on a couple of times in the TV commentary.
It’s a shame because he made a decent contribution early in the game, showing some good skill.
Defensively, he needs a rocket up his arse, but he’s not the only one.