Owen Hargreaves | 2010/11 Performances

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He's clearly a CM - not a viable long term candidate for RM regardless of fitness.

If he was underwhelming in CM it's because he barely had time to adjust to the PL from the Bundesliga - and playing for United - before injury struck.
 
Do people really think we have been as successful as we have been this season with seven players? I think we're over critical of our midfield.
 
Sultan said:
He was mostly rubbish in centre midfield save a few games.

Did fine when moved to the right in a few games. Very good in the Champions League Final. A few vital goals especially the one against Arsenal.
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Rubbish is too harsh.

I would like to see him played in CM just to get him match minutes. Given his case, CM will be less of a gamble, in my opinion. However, he is a good right winger with good crossing ability and real pace and composure, but pity we already have Valencia, Nani and Park to play there. I'm not sure where his best position in our current team is really. But CM is sometimes seen as an area where we are considered relatively weak so I say we should try him there as a backup when he is fully fit.
 
He was going in circles whenever he has the ball playing in the middle most of the time. Receive the ball, run with it a bit, stop, pass it sideways/backward. Repeat.
 
Wan said:
He was going in circles whenever he has the ball playing in the middle most of the time. Receive the ball, run with it a bit, stop, pass it sideways/backward. Repeat.
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Unfortunately at time this season our midfield hasn't even been able to "Receive the ball, run with it a bit" at all.
 
He won't fix that issue. It would be worse with him around playing as he did before.
 
Wan said:
He was going in circles whenever he has the ball playing in the middle most of the time. Receive the ball, run with it a bit, stop, pass it sideways/backward. Repeat.
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Sounds just like a DM... weird! You basically just described Makalele. Add Hargreaves' shooting and free-kick prowess and well, you get a very good DM.
 
No point talking any further if you don't get it.
I rather have O'Shea playing in a pairing of two in the middle than have Hargreaves.
 
Sharky7 said:
Sounds just like a DM... weird! You basically just described Makalele. Add Hargreaves' shooting and free-kick prowess and well, you get a very good DM.
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Completely agreed.

Hargreaves was purchased as a DM, and some are thinking he should be some sort of Xavi type midfielder.
 
Hargreaves's technique with the ball is criminally under-rated here

Clearly he's not going to be at his best if he ever plays again this season though
 
His best partnership was with Park against Barca... Absolutely sublime. Those two runners decimated Barca both legs. (he played RB with Park in front but both interchanged at times when Hargreaves got forward for his crosses). They got the best out of each other.
 
MPTutd said:
Completely agreed.

Hargreaves was purchased as a DM, and some are thinking he should be some sort of Xavi type midfielder.
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Nobody is expecting him to be great on the ball. But everyone was expecting him to be better than he has shown for us in the middle rather than just a defender chasing the ball all the time and then clueless whenever he has the ball in that area. Passing it simple most times would suffice. But almost all the time he gets the ball, run with it a bit. stop, and pass the ball back to whoever it was that pass to him. He could do that without even moving with the ball in the first place.
 
Wan said:
Nobody is expecting him to be great on the ball. But everyone was expecting him to be better than he has shown for us in the middle rather than just a defender chasing the ball all the time and then clueless whenever he has the ball in that area. Passing it simple most times would suffice. But almost all the time he gets the ball, run with it a bit. stop, and pass the ball back to whoever it was that pass to him. He could do that without even moving with the ball in the first place.
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Give up mate. You are makng yourself look a complete muppet.

The fact SAF spent 18m on him and his record for Munich and for England should be enough for anyone to see he is a quality player.
 
Wan said:
He was going in circles whenever he has the ball playing in the middle most of the time. Receive the ball, run with it a bit, stop, pass it sideways/backward. Repeat.
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SATA said:
Hargreaves's technique with the ball is criminally under-rated here

Clearly he's not going to be at his best if he ever plays again this season though
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Agree with SATA here, anyone that watched him regularly for Bayern at domestic and european level would be inclined to disagree. He has more than enough mobility on the ball when fully fit and is very purposeful on the ball when feeling confident and settled. This was also evident with England once he was given a proper chance.

Sadly I just believe this to be yet another false dawn.
 
Nobody's saying he lacks ability on the ball, he just runs around with it a lot unnecessarily, when a short pass would suffice.

Anyway, we didn't sign him to unlock defences, we signed him because we needed more energy and drive in central midfield, especially in Europe. We rely on Fletcher for that these days.
 
He was a very good player, he's being hugely under-rated here. He was a big player for Bayern Munich when they became European Champions and won a lot of Bundesliga, a top player for England, and Bayern held out for £18m before selling him, which Ferguson agreed to pay. He played an important role in us winning the Premier League and Champions League in a very competitive midfield, putting in excellent performances against Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield and the Emirates, and against Chelsea in Moscow up against a left back considered the greatest in the world. To say he was 'a bit crap' in his first season or that he is a worse midfielder than O'Shea considering what he achieved in his career before his injury.

In right midfield or central midfield, as of the last time we saw him, he offers defensive stability, energy, he will consistently win the ball, he can run with it to an extent (perversely this is seen as a bad thing) he has pace, strength, and decent, if not exceptional passing ability. MPTutd is right, people seem to be expecting him to be like Xavi.
 
He was crap in central midfield for us. Sorry, but he was. Two good free kicks and a penalty don't change that.

Good on the right wing, mind.
 
Name Changed said:
I would be ecstatic to see him back. I doubt we will though, and even if we do, he may not be half the player he was. I must admit I was still delighted to hear he was back training. There's always hope. One must presume it's now or never for him.
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I hope if we start at some point soon he gets a run at right back against a side with a shit winger. Just to bed him in.
 
Unfortunately that means nothing until he test himself with some actual game time. I've always wondered why we don't try easing him back with 30 minutes for the reserves rather than putting him straight in the first team like we've done in the past.
 
Sam said:
He was crap in central midfield for us. Sorry, but he was. Two good free kicks and a penalty don't change that.

Good on the right wing, mind.
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Absolute crap. We never had more control of midfield than in some of the games he played.

An outstanding player when fit and a huge loss.
 
Well if his brittle bones last a few weeks training it would be great to see him back......

not sure what planet people are on who claim he was "crap" in midfield ????

:nono::nono:
 
kps88 said:
Unfortunately that means nothing until he test himself with some actual game time. I've always wondered why we don't try easing him back with 30 minutes for the reserves rather than putting him straight in the first team like we've done in the past.
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We did that last season.
 
cw1984 said:
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
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It certainly does. But if he gets back to the level he was at towards the end of his first season, and it is a big IF, he will walk into our midfield, especially when we are playing 4-3-3

He isnt the best in the world, but he fits in well in our system and has been missed.
 
prateik said:
It certainly does. But if he gets back to the level he was at towards the end of his first season, and it is a big IF, he will walk into our midfield, especially when we are playing 4-3-3

He isnt the best in the world, but he fits in well in our system and has been missed.
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Agree with that. It's what he was bought for afterall.
 
can he get through the training without being injured? ;)
 
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