[Escobar]

It was only against Cambridge but he did very well. I was surprised at how well he did at RB, also when he went forward.

 

[soap]

If he gets a few more games at right back against better opposition and maintains that level of performance I think Rafael and Valencia are in trouble. Never realised he was quick.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

If he gets a few more games at right back against better opposition and maintains that level of performance I think Rafael and Valencia are in trouble. Never realised he was quick.

He has looked very slow in the Premier League where the players are faster, though perhaps he is just especially slow on the turn at centre back.

It is all about levels. The U21s and League Two are the lowest levels in the professional game. He still has it all to prove in that position.

 

[Parma Dewol]

I also thought he looked really composed when he came on against Leicester. And he showed promise earlier in the season, there was one game (can't remember against who) where he made an unbelievable clearance with a diving header. Last night showed that he's improving all the time.

Really impressed with the lad. Great touch, good awareness and always willing to go forward. Love the fact that he keeps moving when he makes a pass, takes opponents with him and frees up space.

 

[soap]

He has looked very slow in the Premier League where the players are faster, though perhaps he is just especially slow on the turn.

It is all about levels. The U21s and League Two are the lowest levels in the professional game. He still has it all to prove in that position.

Actually I'm not so sure the difference in speed between divisions is quite as big as you think. For me technique and movement/tactical awareness are bigger factors. Its not that I'm saying he's close to being first choice there, I mean we're likely to buy a RB in the summer and if McNair can be good enough as back up then Valencia and Rafael might be on the way out.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I also thought he looked really composed when he came on against Leicester. And he showed promise earlier in the season, there was one game (can't remember against who) where he made an unbelievable clearance with a diving header. Last night showed that he's improving all the time.

Really impressed with the lad. Great touch, good awareness and always willing to go forward. Love the fact that he keeps moving when he makes a pass, takes opponents with him and frees up space.

That was his PL debut, against West Ham. Played a blinder that day.

 

[Decotron]

Not so long ago in this thread people were questioning his ability on the ball. its weird what people see sometimes. It was that ability on the ball and his late conversion to a defender that make him a far more interesting and promising prospect than Blackett.

Im actually looking forward to seeing him in the DM role at some point. Not convinced RB is his position long term but I think we can safely say we wont see Smalling out there ever again, thank fu*k.

 

[Getsme]

Not so long ago in this thread people were questioning his ability on the ball. its weird what people see sometimes. It was that ability on the ball and his late conversion to a defender that make him a far more interesting and promising prospect than Blackett.

Im actually looking forward to seeing him in the DM role at some point. Not convinced RB is his position long term but I think we can safely say we wont see Smalling out there ever again, thank fu*k.

People see what they want to see.

 

[Pexbo]

Not so long ago in this thread people were questioning his ability on the ball. its weird what people see sometimes. It was that ability on the ball and his late conversion to a defender that make him a far more interesting and promising prospect than Blackett.

Im actually looking forward to seeing him in the DM role at some point. Not convinced RB is his position long term but I think we can safely say we wont see Smalling out there ever again, thank fu*k.

Running forward with the ball in the right back position is a very different "ability on the ball" than having the ball at you feet at centreback with a premiership striker barring down on you.

 

[Decotron]

Running forward with the ball in the right back position is a very different "ability on the ball" than having the ball at you feet at centreback with a premiership striker barring down on you.

Very true, what did you think of his passing last night? He started the move for the first goal with a pretty technical pass I thought....

 

[Adam-Utd]

Very true, what did you think of his passing last night? He started the move for the first goal with a pretty technical pass I thought....

The pass into Mata wasn't the "easiest" or first available pass, but definitely the best. He impressed me I must admit, even his running was better than I expected. I suppose he didn't have much tracking to do, so most of his energy was going forward but he looked more effective than Jones or Smalling there IMO.

 

[Jerch]

The pass into Mata wasn't the "easiest" or first available pass, but definitely the best. He impressed me I must admit, even his running was better than I expected. I suppose he didn't have much tracking to do, so most of his energy was going forward but he looked more effective than Jones or Smalling there IMO.

I was suprised how fast he is. And he was always on the move or demanding a ball. When he receved a ball and passed it he always moved to make himself available again. One of the best attacking performances from WB i have seen this season.

 

[IwatUwat]

Other times he's played RB he's looked like a CB playing there, not yesterday, thought he looked good.

Only found out recently that he signed for us as a Striker. So he should have decent feet and an attacking mentality.

 

[ivaldo]

As good as he was at right back we must bear in mind that up was up against Luke Chadwick who wasn't the quickest even when he was young. Played excellent regardless.

 

[Adam-Utd]

As good as he was at right back we must bear in mind that up was up against Luke Chadwick who wasn't the quickest even when he was young. Played excellent regardless.

While that's true, his passing and movement isn't effected by anybody else. His choice of pass was the thing that impressed me the most.

 

[ricky-romeo]

As good as he was at right back we must bear in mind that up was up against Luke Chadwick who wasn't the quickest even when he was young. Played excellent regardless.

chadwick was rapid when he first break into our first team. then his hamstring kind of gave him away, or any other injury but before that he was very quick.

 

[m1y2]

If he gets a few more games at right back against better opposition and maintains that level of performance I think Rafael and Valencia are in trouble. Never realised he was quick.

tbf either rafael or valencia would have trashed them yesterday, they had no clue how to defend the wide spaces on much bigger pitch. And that was their problem they worked hard and well as a unit but struggle to cover the space. McNair did his best to get them in trouble

 

[Zoo]

 

[Solius]

Good news. I was saying a few weeks ago that we'll probably get rid of him and Blackett as I haven't seen anything special but I may have been wrong about Sir Paddy of McNair.

 

[Solius]

Although prob should've started a new thread for this.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Hopefully yesterday's game is a start of something and not his Alex Buttner moment. We could direly use a right back of that quality. You could see in the Leicester game that Van Gaal was intending to use him as a right back so the signs are probably there.

 

[Sied]

Good news. He could really have a future here imo.

 

[Devil may care]

Excellent news, I imagine his versatility as well as ability on the ball appeals to LvG.

 

[RedMachine03]

The Dutchman also revealed that another young prospect, Paddy McNair has signed a contract extension.

"The former manager (Moyes) has chosen him to play (Januzaj) from out of the youth and he had an extension of his contract, so then you know that he is a Manchester United player," Van Gaal said.

"Paddy McNair, now, is coming from out of the youth, he has extended his contract, so he is a Manchester United player."

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/van-gaal-battle-will-go-on-30954415.html

 

[Colin Gibson]

A few people have mentioned John O'Shea which I think is an apt comparison here, having a player with that kind of versatility is always going to be positive, especially for a manager like LVG who tinkers with the formation constantly and probably explains why he was elevated above the likes of Keane & Thorpe. Hopefully we'll be back in the CL next season which will mean more football for the squad players.

We'll still sign a RB in the summer though. Sorry, Paddy.

 

[Zoo]

McNair vs Cambridge, 1st half



2nd half

 

[mu77]

i voted for him for MOTM v cambridge thinking "well he'll get one vote f it" to seeing he had over 60% of the vote. he was well composed on the ball.

 

[El-Manos]

Good news. I was saying a few weeks ago that we'll probably get rid of him and Blackett as I haven't seen anything special but I may have been wrong about Sir Paddy of McNair.

Strange conclusion considering he was excellent on his debut against West Ham, followed it up with some decent performances as well I thought.

 

[DWelbz19]

Strange conclusion considering he was excellent on his debut against West Ham, followed it up with some decent performances as well I thought.

He had a few games where he looked really slow and sluggish, maybe the Saints game just took the confidence completely out of him.

 

[El-Manos]

He had a few games where he looked really slow and sluggish, maybe the Saints game just took the confidence completely out of him.

Yup, his last 2-3 games weren't great with the exception of his last performance against Cambridge of course. That was to be expected for a young lad playing at this level though.

 

[Walrus]

A few weeks ago I wasnt convinced by him and thought he would probably be sold to end up in a mid-table PL side. Whilst one performance doesnt prove anything, and the opposition were of a lower quality than we normally face, McNair did very well and was my MotM as well. He certainly hasnt done himself any harm with that game and I am happy to at least give him some more time to show what he can do.

 

[soap]

tbf either rafael or valencia would have trashed them yesterday, they had no clue how to defend the wide spaces on much bigger pitch. And that was their problem they worked hard and well as a unit but struggle to cover the space. McNair did his best to get them in trouble

Yeah I agree completely. Rafael is always injured and Valencia isnt good enough at defending though, so if we get a new RB in next summer, McNair would seem a more suitabke back up than those two if he can show some good form in that position

 

[Van Piorsing]

He offers distribution and can play midfield ?

Sign him.

 

[jojose]

Actually I'm not so sure the difference in speed between divisions is quite as big as you think. For me technique and movement/tactical awareness are bigger factors. Its not that I'm saying he's close to being first choice there, I mean we're likely to buy a RB in the summer and if McNair can be good enough as back up then Valencia and Rafael might be on the way out.

It is a huge difference. Explosive pace and power. Not many athletes like Bale and Ronaldo in Ligue 2. Obviousley thats cherry picking examples but most players in the premier league are athletes. Look at the pace and physiques of even Nani and Valencia.

 

[limerickcitykid]

It is a huge difference. Explosive pace and power. Not many athletes like Bale and Ronaldo in Ligue 2. Obviousley thats cherry picking examples but most players in the premier league are athletes. Look at the pace and physiques of even Nani and Valencia.

No there isn't a huge difference. There are plenty of players in the lower leagues with the same pace and power as Bale and Ronaldo, it is that they do not have the technical football skills like the two of them to take advantage of their pace and power to the same degree. Again, lower league players are professional footballers, they train and workout everyday just like premier league players. They are athletes and also have great physiques.

 

[jojose]

No there isn't a huge difference. There are plenty of players in the lower leagues with the same pace and power as Bale and Ronaldo, it is that they do not have the technical football skills like the two of them to take advantage of their pace and power to the same degree. Again, lower league players are professional footballers, they train and workout everyday just like premier league players. They are athletes and also have great physiques.

Disagree.
Name me a couple of 6 foot units that are built like brick shit houses that run like kanchelskis??

 

[Dante]

He was immense against Cambridge.

He had more touches and more passes than anyone else in the team. And he did it from rightback!

It's usually Blind/Carrick who top those stats (or if we're playing really badly, one of the CBs). It speaks volumes that McNair managed it from the least glamourous position on the pitch and in the midst of such illustrious company.

90 passes and 93.3% passing accuracy. Those are Xavi numbers. Nobody else in the side came close to matching him on the day. The kid has a lot of potential.

 

[m1y2]

I once made a comparison with him being our chambers but I guess the better would be our Eric Dier, in terms of where he play, he is center back but quite young to start there, not dominant enough and mistake prone, so is shifted wide to gain confidence and actually can do the job. Future is bright for Paddy but we will see where he ends up as he seems to have skills to play all defensive positions, I think Van Gaal may experiment a bit with him playing as DM as he experiments with almost every player. Anyway I think he will spend playing RB most of the time where he gain that confidence if our center backs are fit. He wasn't really looking sure at CB for me so far..

 

[Elliott]

He had a few games where he looked really slow and sluggish, maybe the Saints game just took the confidence completely out of him.

Really slow and sluggish is an exaggeration. He's been beaten for pace once or twice by quick players but that's down to inexperience as much as anything else. He might be average-paced but he's not slow.

 

[Borys]

Impressive stuff. I would say this performance was closer to Rafael than Jones/Smalling at right back.

Very good decision making, quality on the ball (even when running, much much better than Phil or Chris), passing, crossing! Deserves a chance at RB, if Valencia managed to learn how to play the defensive part of the game in this position then so can he. And he already looks more threatening than him.

Quite interesting what next for him. Another gleam of hope.