[NK86]

Ronaldo started several matches at 18, he was explosive with brilliant technique. Not only his one-on-ones, but also his crossing was way above that of Depay. Depay doesn't often have two men glued into him, his touch often let's him down which makes it seem like he doesn't have space. And his decisive passing has been dreadful.

Ronaldo was very very wasteful earlier. His crossing was decent to good but nowhere near Beckham standards while his shooting was wayward. Ronaldo had pace to burn without a doubt and he would beat his man but he would run up blind alleys many times and do those little step overs but he was nowhere near the levels he started showing post-2006 WC.

And that is my point about Depay. I think Depay has a lot of potential, it is just his desire to do everything on his own which sometimes lets him down, similar to how Ronaldo was earlier. As for the defenders on him, you will see many times there are two players covering him whenever he gets the ball.

 

[Maradona10]

I think the worst moment in the match was his free kick. It was the poorest i have seen in a long time, he came with a reputation of good free kick taker. It was horrible.

 

[kouroux]

He can be frustrating but honestly it's just a matter of tuning himself up to the same wavelength of his teammates. He's young and he'll get much better. To criticize him now doesn't mean he isn't considered a great talent.

 

[kouroux]

Ronaldo was very very wasteful earlier. His crossing was decent to good but nowhere near Beckham standards while his shooting was wayward. Ronaldo had pace to burn without a doubt and he would beat his man but he would run up blind alleys many times and do those little step overs but he was nowhere near the levels he started showing post-2006 WC.

And that is my point about Depay. I think Depay has a lot of potential, it is just his desire to do everything on his own which sometimes lets him down, similar to how Ronaldo was earlier. As for the defenders on him, you will see many times there are two players covering him whenever he gets the ball.

The WC 06 was indeed the event that completely changed Ronaldo. I think he got from the away crowd (+ plus the protection and love from the home crowd/SAF/his teammates) transformed him mentally.

 

[Moonred]

I agree he is a bit indecisive and lacks composure. But he has 10 times the talent that Young has and is more likely to win you a game. Not a finished product obviously.

 

[Sereques]

People want him benched already?! Jesus guys.

 

[Nighteyes]

I wouldn't even say I'm "bigging him up" too heavily either. I just think a lot of the talk in here the past couple of games has been markedly harsh and, at times, very short sighted.

How is it short sighted? I don't think you know what that means.

No one's saying we should sell him or that he should never ever start a league game again. He's being called out for being poor in the league, which he undoubtedly has been.

Not sure why people keep bringing up Ronaldo and Nani. Aside from the fact that both looked a lot more polished in their debut seasons both of them started less than half our games in their first season. Depay is on track to start over 30 games at the current rate despite doing very little when he actually plays. If for nothing else he needs to be dropped to give him some 'rest'.

 

[itso 7]

He is frustrating but you understand why he plays ahead of Young. He is far more likely to score or create a goal than Young is, Young manages to look good, beating his fullback for fun but with very little end product whilst Mempis is still settling in but making poor decisions at crucial moments in the attack we have to bear with him because the benefits that will accrue if he turns it around are immense.

 

[Kant-ona]

I am really not a fan of him so far, but we get carried away here. This guy is still very, very young, it's his first season away from home, his first season in the premier league and his stats are not bad at all. 4 goals, 4 assists. That's totally o.k., isn't it. Yes, he is this kind of player who can be frustrating to watch, but he will decide matches and he will get better and better - specially when he feels the support of the club and the fans.

I have a good feeling when it comes to his future.

 

[Borys]

At the moment I rate Pereira higher than Depay and since people really don't want Young to start games for whatever reason (which is unfair and he's the victim of this situation) then van Gaal should give Andreas at least a couple of games to see what he can do.

I must be watching some other games because I don't see him as a player "likely to create" at all, certainly no more than Young. And that's even if I ignore how selfish he is. He's more likely to get at the end of a cross in the box as he is more of a striker, while Young is our only winger.

 

[Ixion]

Haven't watched the game back or highlights yet and don't know if it was picked up on TV but after he scored the first goal and everone was going back for kick-off he turned around to their keeper and gave him a little wave for all the time wasting, was funny, got a big cheer from the crowd.

 

[NinjaZombie]

We need him to step it up if we're going to win the league, I feel. Here's hoping he and Van Gaal work out how to improve his performances, which has so far been frustrating.

 

[khoazany]

Not playing that great but still providing a solid goal threat, which is exactly why we bought him.

Four by september means he should get well into double figures for the season. Young has managed five goals in his last three and a bit seasons.

We aren't going to play the Brugges anymore.

He should and need to be dropped for the sake of the team and it will only make him to work harder instead of thinking he's already undroppable when his performance is nowhere near guarantee that.

If he's not Dutch and came from the academy instead of bought he would have already been dropped after the first 3-4 league games.

 

[Welbeckham]

I must be watching some other games because I don't see him as a player "likely to create" at all, certainly no more than Young. And that's even if I ignore how selfish he is. He's more likely to get at the end of a cross in the box as he is more of a striker, while Young is our only winger.

I fully agree. People really overrate his likeliness to create. He had one good game against Brugge (and their terrible defence) where he looked dangerous. Other than that, he's been really wasteful.

His dribbling has been quite awful to watch as I think several fullbacks have completely dominated him. Best players should start and he currently isn't good enough to warrant an automatic starting position. Should at least start some PL matches from the bench.

 

[Getsme]

How can a player settle and improve if he isn't given the playing time? Why are fans so impatient when it comes to young talent, out of any team in the league you'd think we would understand it more than anybody. How can some fans not see the talent that this boy processes?
People need to start supporting the team.

 

[Borys]

How can a player settle and improve if he isn't given the playing time? Why are fans so impatient when it comes to young talent, out of any team in the league you'd think we would understand it more than anybody. How can some fans not see the talent that this boy processes?
People need to start supporting the team.

You only see two colours - it's always black or white for you, there's nothing in between.
Some of you need to understand that we have enough games to play Young (who has not reached 200 mins in the league), Depay and even Pereira. But so far it seems Memphis is automatic starter although he's been producing very poor performances (in the EPL). He's been good in Europe and that's where he should be starting.

Nobody's saying he should be playing in the reserves, but playing him every game in current form makes more harm than good for both team and player.

You're right, we need to support the team, but right now reading the caf it's more about Memphis getting the stats than team playing good football. Boy needs a rest and he needs to be taken out of the spotlight. Too much pressure on him.

 

[Getsme]

You only see two colours - it's always black or white for you, there's nothing in between.
Some of you need to understand that we have enough games to play Young (who has not reached 200 mins in the league), Depay and even Pereira. But so far it seems Memphis is automatic starter although he's been producing very poor performances (in the EPL). He's been good in Europe and that's where he should be starting.

Nobody's saying he should be playing in the reserves, but playing him every game in current form makes more harm than good for both team and player.

You're right, we need to support the team, but right now reading the caf it's more about Memphis getting the stats than team playing good football. Boy needs a rest and he needs to be taken out of the spotlight. Too much pressure on him.

What
The boy needs games to gel with the team, he hasn't even been that bad but right on cue the caf turns overly critical. As for saying its all black and white with me, I have no idea where you got that from but carry on.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

We aren't going to play the Brugges anymore.

He should and need to be dropped for the sake of the team and it will only make him to work harder instead of thinking he's already undroppable when his performance is nowhere near guarantee that.

If he's not Dutch and came from the academy instead of bought he would have already been dropped after the first 3-4 league games.

 

[khoazany]

And your point is...? Hopefully not another along the line of "the manager always right".

 

[Pogue Mahone]

And your point is...? Hopefully not another along the line of "the manager always right".

My point is your constant belly-aching about alleged bias against academy players is tedious. Any idiot can see that Memphis has far more potential than academy players who play the same position so sticking with him is common sense, not bias. He's got a decent return already too and he'll only get better from here.

 

[settembrini]

We aren't going to play the Brugges anymore.

He should and need to be dropped for the sake of the team and it will only make him to work harder instead of thinking he's already undroppable when his performance is nowhere near guarantee that.

If he's not Dutch and came from the academy instead of bought he would have already been dropped after the first 3-4 league games.

Goals against bad teams can still be important. His brace in the first leg against Brugge made our qualification considerably easier than if we had travelled their after a 1-1 draw at home. Sunderland are also a bad team but yesterday we were struggling to open them up and it looked like we would be heading into HT level until he scored.

I see no reason to drop him. His goal threat is too important and his overall performances are only average, not poor. His cafe rating is 6.2 while Young is on 5.9. People are saying things like he loses the ball to much and doesn't beat his man but according to squawka his pass accuracy is 82% and his successful dribbles are 1.84 per 90 minutes, Young is worse on both counts with 80% passing accuracy and hasn't yet successfully take-on anyone. Pereira is only other option for that position and while I would like to see more of him it should be coming off the bench, not throw straight into the team.

 

[KM]

How can a player settle and improve if he isn't given the playing time? Why are fans so impatient when it comes to young talent, out of any team in the league you'd think we would understand it more than anybody. How can some fans not see the talent that this boy processes?
People need to start supporting the team.

Let's not get all hasty here. Supporting the team is too mainstream now, criticising a youngster(who's actually got a pretty decent return all things considered) is the right thing to do. He's already got 4 goals which is already more than what Young got last season and what Nani got in his first season. He's a goal threat and consistently works hard for the team. Add to that four assists(or three if you don't count Mata's goal as his assist) and that makes it an excellent contribution for a 21yr old settling in a new country with a new team.

It's all irritating to see his goals against Brugge being discounted for. We were actually in a tight spot in that home leg and he carried us in the home leg.

 

[Kill 'em all]

Let's not get all hasty here. Supporting the team is too mainstream now, criticising a youngster(who's actually got a pretty decent return all things considered) is the right thing to do. He's already got 4 goals which is already more than what Young got last season and what Nani got in his first season. He's a goal threat and consistently works hard for the team. Add to that four assists(or three if you don't count Mata's goal as his assist) and that makes it an excellent contribution for a 21yr old settling in a new country with a new team.

It's all irritating to see his goals against Brugge being discounted for. We were actually in a tight spot in that home leg and he carried us in the home leg.

Not to mention PSV. He was our only player that kept trying.

 

[KM]

Not to mention PSV. He was our only player that kept trying.

He and Martial actually. Young and Mata were quite poor that night.

4 goals and 4 assists in his first 10 starts and yet people want him dropped. Jesus.

 

[shivab]

Knee jerk reactions as usual around here. He's young. He needs time on the pitch to improve. We will reap the rewards of giving him that time. Have some faith.

 

[Ole90+3]

People want Memphis dropped for Young?

That moment against Southampton that setup Mata's crucial goal is the reason why Memphis starts. No one else in the squad can do something like that, maybe bar Martial.

I actually think Memphis and Martial are the main reasons we are on currently top of the league. They are players that defenders hate coming up against. They strike fear into the opponents, make fans stand up and take notice when their on the ball. We've badly missed players like this.

He may not produce every time he drives at defences, but he is one of the every few players in the team that actually has the confidence to take on his defender, which is such an important part of creating chances.

 

[Eckers99]

Looking for a thread where I can lose all sense of perspective for a while. Been days since the last one. Could this be the place? No sense of context? Check. Futile comparisons with the past? Check. Wonky reasoning? Check.

I've found my thread!

 

[Getsme]

Let's not get all hasty here. Supporting the team is too mainstream now, criticising a youngster(who's actually got a pretty decent return all things considered) is the right thing to do. He's already got 4 goals which is already more than what Young got last season and what Nani got in his first season. He's a goal threat and consistently works hard for the team. Add to that four assists(or three if you don't count Mata's goal as his assist) and that makes it an excellent contribution for a 21yr old settling in a new country with a new team.

It's all irritating to see his goals against Brugge being discounted for. We were actually in a tight spot in that home leg and he carried us in the home leg.

Indeed.

 

[Eric'sCollar]

Every time I see a bad cross or something, I just think back to the countless balls Ronaldo put into the crowd.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

He and Martial actually. Young and Mata were quite poor that night.

4 goals and 4 assists in his first 10 starts and yet people want him dropped. Jesus.

Nowt wrong with his output but he gives the ball away far too much and fails to deliver as wide player. Whilst Young might not match Depay's goal output, personally I believe that the team would score more with Young on the wing.

 

[khoazany]

My point is your constant belly-aching about alleged bias against academy players is tedious. Any idiot can see that Memphis has far more potential than academy players who play the same position so sticking with him is common sense, not bias. He's got a decent return already too and he'll only get better from here.

Common sense?I don't see any common sense of how he should start every game over Young or Pereira.I do agree that he should get most of the time on the pitch out of these players due to his potential but it's a big difference from him being undropable.Pereira has potential as well, does it mean that he should be anywhere near starting regularly for us at this point?

Decent return?Rooney did score 3 against Brugge as well.The last goal was a tap-in.He has been very wasteful and ineffective in games how about that?

As my previous post stated I think it will be more beneficial for him to sit out 1-2 matches and see how can he improve.

 

[Gambit]

I'm more than happy with him. Progressing nicely. Not fully up to speed yet his contribution is already great.

 

[rotherham_red]

Ronaldo took the best part of three seasons before he started putting any sort of consistency into his game. The 2003-4 and 2004-5 seasons were largely forgettable seasons minus a few good performances here and there. And he had a shocker of a first half of the 2005-6 season. It was only around February of that year that Ronaldo brought in the consistency to his game. And he was around the same age Depay is now with two and a half years of adaptation to the league and the club when that had happened.

Bear that in mind the next time you want to compare Depay to Ronaldo. He'll come good, I'm absolutely sure of it. He has to get used to his teammates and build up a chemistry with them. You can see so many hints of what he's trying to do but his teammates haven't cottoned on to it (like his flicked passes into space or backheels). Shaw's injury hasn't helped also as he won't get the same level of support from Young or Darmian and needs to build up a new chemistry with whoever gets the nod for the medium term until Shaw comes back fit. It'll be patchy for a little while but I think by the second half of this season we'll see a more mature Depay.

 

[KM]

Nowt wrong with his output but he gives the ball away far too much and fails to deliver as wide player. Whilst Young might not match Depay's goal output, personally I believe that the team would score more with Young on the wing.

That is a fair opinion but then Young takes a lot of flak here for not having a great end product.

 

[villain]

I'm not sure why some people's expectations were that he'd blitz the league in the first couple of months?

4 goals and 4 assists including crucial CL qualifying performances and he's not even up to speed yet. He's playing well.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Pretty much what @vi1lain says. I think many expected big things from him, instantly, but you have to remember he tore a relatively poor Dutch league apart.

If you tone down your expectations to those of a 21 year old, then he's been ok, not great but not that bad. At times, he's been very frustrating to watch but you always have a sense of expectation and excitement when he gets on the ball. I wouldn't be averse to seeing him rotating more with Young, as a break could be very useful for him.

 

[Walrus]

My only disappointment with Memphis is that I feel Nani would have offered us much the same, perhaps with a higher output.

Regarding Memphis, he needs time to develop - that is fine, although I think perhaps we shouldnt be afraid to rotate him a bit from time to time, although we dont really have many good other options since we sold ADM and loaned out Januzaj.

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

He can be frustrating but honestly it's just a matter of tuning himself up to the same wavelength of his teammates. He's young and he'll get much better. To criticize him now doesn't mean he isn't considered a great talent.

I think he still needs to tune in into the PL, he has to do everything he used to do at a higher pace. He can't trust his moves and touches to work here to, that's unsettling his game and affects his general form and his crosses and free kicks to.

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

I think people are confusing him with the Ronaldo Comparison, he doesn't look super fast first of all, and secondly Ronaldo used to beat his man at will, his problem was over doing it, he used to go past a player then cut back and would try to beat him again, it became very annoying and infuriating, and Ronaldo looked destined to be a top player, his basics were top notch, with depay however his touch and vision has been very poor, he doesn't get his head up at all, one thing i will give it to him his finishing looks class, but overall he has been very underwhelming, he looks like he will be more Nani than Ronaldo.

 

[Acole9]

Nice to see him get his first Premier League goal (although he should've scored that other chance he had), lets hope this is the first of many for him. He's starting to look a bit more settled in English football.