The myth lives on....
Owen Hargreaves | 2010/11 Performances
- Thread starter SharkyMcShark
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No he wouldn't.
Gosh you ARE dumbYou clearly never paid any attention during that game. I suspect you must be amongst the clueless brigade who thought Carrick the MOM vs Ecuador in the 2nd Round.
Of course he would. And he picked all of those central midfielders instead of using Hargreaves in central midfield.
Well he didn't...
Well he did. Hargreaves had to make do with games at right back and right midfield because he couldnt get a place in the middle.
Utter nonsense, he's picked on the right because, like Rooney on the left, he is one of the complete players in the squad who has to sacrifice himself for less adaptable players (Carrick, Scholes).
correct.
Before he was played on the right and at right back he was out of the team. He was dropped with Scholes and Carrick taking the first team places. He was given some oppertunities at right back and right midfield because we had injuries and rotation issues.
Rooney is always in the team
He was carrying an injury, he started 16 games that season in the league, where as in the Champions League he played in 7/8 knockout games.
Fletcher and Carrick played at fullback behind Darron Gibson against Fulham during our injury crisis... does that means he's superior to both or does it mean its because he couldn't play at centerback as well as them?
Carrick cant play at rightback or on the wing, as the above example shows, rightly or wrongly, when Fergie plays a player out of position he picks the most capable person, not the weakest in his origional position.
We might not have been hammered 3-0 by Fulham if he's played Fletcher in midfield and have us some kind of presence.
It's clear we're never going to agree on this, but for someone who played through injury as much as Hargreaves did 16 starts isn't a bad return.
Look, if he's being moved around for the team then at no point is he going to be out of the team. See: Wayne Rooney. If he's out of the team more than he's in it, its because he's not first choice for any position. In his first season he had a couple of games on the bounce when we had injuries and no alternatives to playing he and Anderson together, but when other players came back to fitness he was out of the team. Then from that point where he's out of the team, he got a couple of games at right back and then right midfield. He was not moved about for the sake of the team, he was dropped for better central midfielders and then he was given oppertunities in other positions where he played better.
I disagree. I think he was a beast for England defensively at WC 2006, and I think his struggles at United since then have led people to forget how good he was there.
There's no doubt in my mind that his best position is as a defensive midfielder and I speak as someone who lived in Munich for 8 years when he played there - I've seen a lot of him.
Like any player new to the PL, moving from the Bundesliga, he had difficulties adapting to the pace of the game here in England which is perhaps why Ferguson gave him games on the wing. I don't think it's his best position but he clearly, on occasions, looked off the pace in the middle of the pitch in the Premiership leading SAF to perhaps prefer giving him time away from CM and it's extra responsibility...
Whether he'll now ever be able to play enough for us to fully come to terms with the PL is another matter altogether sadly...
That's really not true, as I suggested in my above post.
He was competing for a place in the team against players bought through the system in the English game, unlike him.
He didn't necessarily lose out in favour of 'better' players - he suffered as he was trying to come to terms with playing in a totally different league in his late 20's, something which is very hard to do.
I've no idea how good he was for Bayern other than the odd champions league matches I've mostly forgotten but can remember he never impressed me in. I'm certainly not even close to well informed about his time and quality for Bayern.
But the sheer fact you're telling me he was a beast defensively for England in 2006 tells me that I cannot take your word for how good he was for Bayern. Because he wasnt that good defensively for England at all.
I wont dispute that he did quite well in the tournament helping the team to come forward. But thats not really what I'd be focusing on when it comes to a defensive midfield player. For example Alex Song at Arsenal. He's impressed me with his ability to move with the ball and his passing, but these are extra things for a player who is playing the deepest role in midfield. He's not that good at screening the defence, he's not very good at all at breaking up play in a sensible fashion to help his team and so I dont rate him as highly as some other posters on here.
Scholes and Carrick are better central midfielders.
Scholes clearly is but he's also a different type of player. When Hargreaves moved to United I would have expected him to be rated higher than Carrick actually but that wasn't so in the end, and Hargreaves struggled to form partnerships with either Scholes or Carrick in CM - something which was again unexpected.
Hence my point about the difficulty of moving to a totally different league in your late 20's... You seem to judge Hargreaves purely on his time at United - you even admit you've barely seen him play for Bayern - but it's unfair to define a player by a period in which he was mostly coming to terms with a different style of football.
Had he been fit the last 2 years I've little doubt he'd have made a place in the 1st team his own, most likely at Carrick's expense.
Hang on, so Ekeke is basing his whole view on Hargreaves on one season, his first in English football, while carrying an injury that looks likely to end his career? Even that season he was better than Carrick has been for the last two and a half years.
Jesus...
Jesus...
United and England matches. The same England matches where his selection was very unpopular at one point. If I recall even some boo boys. And the same England where he shot to popularity in this country after his tournament in 2006.
Well thats a load of rubbish isnt it. Last season Carrick was poor, but the one before that he was good in the second half of the season. And the season before that he was really good.
Hargreaves was a calamity in our central midfield, except at the start when he was playing in a midfield 3. But we didnt face any challenges with that setup.
In a midfield 2 he dwelt on the ball, had problems passing it around and by and large slowed us down to a terrible pace. I'm sure the injury was affecting him but he was no worse than I'd seen him be for England.
And it doesnt explain why he made bad decisions, usually receiving a pass, running with it one way trying to decide who to pass to, eventually deciding not to pass it that way, so turning and running the other way before eventually passing it to a fullback or backwards. That could be more to do with Baldwin's point about adjusting to a new league, but I've honestly never seen a player struggle with it that much that they cant even move the ball around sensibly. He just struggled with having so many options. When he was moved to right back, he had less options and did quite well. When he was moved to right midfield, again less options and again more success. He just wasnt good in central midfield, he was fine in other positions away from the middle of the pitch.
Reguardless of whoever thinks anyone was shit or not, in the past reguarding hargreaves, if he comes back playing pain free he'll be an even bigger asset than he was before. At this point United has nothing to lose and everything to win. I wish him nothing but the best.
That's a ridiculous thing to say Chief.
That's also ridiculous.
Hargreaves' best form never come for us in the middle of the park. He really came to the fore in the run in playing a variety of positions including full back and right wing.
This is the problem with some united fans. The longer a player is out, the better his performances with us seem to get when the stories are told. You never seem to hear of the average performances, or the times when he wasn't as effective. Just the MOTM games...and suddenly, one or two of those excellent games totally defines what that player was.
Hargreaves better then Carrick...what a crock of shit.
Even back then Hargreaves looked limited in midfield. That's why he was pushed onto the right where at least his engine, crossing and tackling were put to good use. The way some of you talk about him I'm wondering if you're confusing Hargreaves with Claude Makalele. But that can't be right. Claude didn't have curly hair did he?
Hargreaves better then Carrick...what a crock of shit.
Even back then Hargreaves looked limited in midfield. That's why he was pushed onto the right where at least his engine, crossing and tackling were put to good use. The way some of you talk about him I'm wondering if you're confusing Hargreaves with Claude Makalele. But that can't be right. Claude didn't have curly hair did he?
That's true, unfirtunately. He was getting slated by England fans throughout the qualification campaign iirc.
Although, to be fair, we shouldn't take England fans too seriously, when it comes to judging a player.
Rather than focus on his injury and whatnot, see his ability on the ball or lack of it, and his basic passing ability which was poor I thought for a CM. It was worse that the younger version of Fletcher. He would get the ball, run a bit with it, pass sideways. He does that each time when he can just stop the ball and pass it off early instead. Something tells me you don't watch him play a lot.
on Football365.com it says it's been exactly two years to the day since he last started a match for us 
Any updates?
If the original two weeks until he was home prediction is valid then he should be returning in the next few days to Manchester.
there was an article anout him on twitter linked off some site, saying he had arrived back in manchester this week. dont have it now, but seemed fairly believeable.
Unless you actually have an update you shouldnt be allowed to just bump the thread.
It gives one false hope.
i have a 20 quid bet with a dipper fan he will play before october 31st......i have utmost faith he will do that.
What's your dipper friend going to spend 20 quid on?
Probably white lightening and special brew.
Hargreaves back in training
Hargreaves surprises Sir Alex - Manchester United Official Web Site
Can't wait to see him link up with Berbagol! The sexual play will be off the roof!
Hargreaves surprises Sir Alex - Manchester United Official Web Site
Can't wait to see him link up with Berbagol! The sexual play will be off the roof!Great news.
Fantastic news!
I hope for his sake that he's over the problems he's had since he joined and for the teams sake too. Cracking player to have in the team/squad.
I hope for his sake that he's over the problems he's had since he joined and for the teams sake too. Cracking player to have in the team/squad.
I like this - a lot.
Also like how it says Carrick is back in training.
Please let them come back soon!
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