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Paddy McNair Northern Ireland flag

2015-16 Performances


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4.8 Season Average Rating
Appearances
9
Clean sheets
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Yellow cards
0
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Let's see what he can do as a midfielder. Obviously I will write him off from centre back as he's not good enough in there but play in midfield will be his second chance. Eric dier is an example.
 
His instinct is more of a midfielder actually. Would do no harm to use him there since he plays there for Northern Ireland
 
His instinct is more of a midfielder actually. Would do no harm to use him there since he plays there for Northern Ireland

Well I guess Northern Ireland play in a different way than we're supposed to, nobody expects them to dominate games, and while he might be a good midfielders for a side like them (midtable type PL team), I can't see him be it for a top side like we want to be.
 
Played pretty well last couple of internationals as a holding midfielder, looked more comfortable there than anything i've seen from him at centre back. Pretty good on the ball too.

Can't be any worse than he is at the back.
 
I have no idea where the new narrative that he is terrible has come from? It's like the caf needs a shiny new toy every 6 months, after that introductory phrase everyone jumps on players backs. Mcnair did well last season and was a pretty decent squad player, he's probably not United quality but its crazy how written off he's become so quickly. Looking forward for everyone jumping on Rashfords back at the start of next season.
 
I have no idea where the new narrative that he is terrible has come from? It's like the caf needs a shiny new toy every 6 months, after that introductory phrase everyone jumps on players backs. Mcnair did well last season and was a pretty decent squad player, he's probably not United quality but its crazy how written off he's become so quickly. Looking forward for everyone jumping on Rashfords back at the start of next season.
This
 
I have no idea where the new narrative that he is terrible has come from? It's like the caf needs a shiny new toy every 6 months, after that introductory phrase everyone jumps on players backs. Mcnair did well last season and was a pretty decent squad player, he's probably not United quality but its crazy how written off he's become so quickly. Looking forward for everyone jumping on Rashfords back at the start of next season.

I thought McNair was very impressive last season, especially against Chelsea away. I saw two future first team regulars in Shaw and McNair in that game. It's a shame how this season has gone for them.

McNair needs to lock down a position instead of being painted with the Jack of all trades brush due to his versatility. He started off as a midfielder, so I believe he could take to that role again if given an opportunity. He's good on the ball.
 
I thought McNair was very impressive last season, especially against Chelsea away. I saw two future first team regulars in Shaw and McNair in that game. It's a shame how this season has gone for them.

McNair needs to lock down a position instead of being painted with the Jack of all trades brush due to his versatility. He started off as a midfielder, so I believe he could take to that role again if given an opportunity. He's good on the ball.

I still think it's RB. If ivanovic can do it & Mcnair is a better dribbler - I still think that's the way to go. van gaal would have surely bought a younger RB than Damian otherwise.
 
I still think it's RB. If ivanovic can do it & Mcnair is a better dribbler - I still think that's the way to go. van gaal would have surely bought a younger RB than Damian otherwise.

Erm, what? Darmian is 26. What are you on about? I honestly reckon that once LvG goes, McNair will be gone too.
 
Erm, what? Darmian is 26. What are you on about? I honestly reckon that once LvG goes, McNair will be gone too.

I think Mourinho will give most players a chance in his first season. His versatility might give him a chance at staying.
 
Well considering Mcnair was similarly or marginally less impressive than rashford last season during a point of call - then I do worry for our youngsters.

Behave.

Rashford never had to get taken off before half time because he was beyond awful.
 
Behave? You are basing Mcnair off one bad game. After that he hasn't showed up fair; but he has 3 even 4 times better games than he has bad.

Rashford put in MOTM performances against Arsenal, and Midgetland. He also won us the manchester derby.

McNair has been dross. People on here thought Blackett and McNair were the future, Blackett is currently not getting a game for Celtic, and McNair will end up similarly.
 
He's definitely a defensive midfielder. The amount of forward runs he makes as a defender makes Phil Jones look normal in comparison. Though i don't know about his passing skills. Haven't seen much of that. Wonder if Blackett could become a William Carvalho playing the DM. He's pretty athletic and can pass well.
 
People on here thought Blackett and McNair were the future,
Nobody who had any clue about the youth thought that. Blackett was terrible for the U21's, and always looked to be an athlete who coasted by because he was bigger and stronger than the youngster he was up against and showed very limited concentration and defensive awareness. He never looked like making it at United, and was predicted a future in the lower leagues, let alone Premiership/making it at United (or even Celtic).

McNair is a weird one. He looked pretty good at U21's not anything special like a Wilson or Januzaj, but he was good. But I think when posters heard that a young defender was being called up most would have expected Tom Thorpe and were pleasantly surpised by it being McNair, but I don't think that many thought he'd be "the future".

I agree that he won't cut it either in the Prem either, he doesn't really have a position but would be a useful squad player to Championship teams.
 
http://www.tribalfootball.com/artic...-mcnair-sends-midfield-message-to-lvg-4123676

Manchester United defender Paddy McNair admits he feels comfortable in midfield.

McNair, 20, played in midfield for Northern Ireland in their friendlies against Wales and Slovenia over the last week, as the Green and White Army extended their unbeaten run to a record 10 games.

"I am learning about the holding midfield position and really enjoy playing it for Northern Ireland," McNair told the Belfast Telegraph.

"A lot of people said when I was growing up that I would end up in midfield and to have played there a few times at international level is great.

"I started playing centre-back for United and maybe now people see me as a centre-back but personally I think I'm more of a midfielder.

"If I had the chance to play the holding midfield role at United that would be fantastic.

"If I'm told though to play centre-back, right-back or wherever, I'll be happy enough because I want to play games.

"I've had a lot of injuries this season which haven't helped so my aim is to keep working hard at the club and get as many matches as I can until the end of the season.

"We have Everton on Sunday and if I'm involved that would be great. I really want to keep my fitness up for the Euros and go into that tournament feeling confident."
 
Rashford put in MOTM performances against Arsenal, and Midgetland. He also won us the manchester derby.

McNair has been dross. People on here thought Blackett and McNair were the future, Blackett is currently not getting a game for Celtic, and McNair will end up similarly.

He was good last season imo. Some of his performances at CB was very good for someone who hadnt played at the top level at all. He was MOTM in his first game too. If Mcnair played 20 games last season, aout 15 of them were good performances. So to call him dross is extremely harsh.

This season he has been poor and he is someone who genuinely hasnt got games. I think he started maybe 3 or 4 games. Hard to write him off over that.
 
Nobody who had any clue about the youth thought that. Blackett was terrible for the U21's, and always looked to be an athlete who coasted by because he was bigger and stronger than the youngster he was up against and showed very limited concentration and defensive awareness. He never looked like making it at United, and was predicted a future in the lower leagues, let alone Premiership/making it at United (or even Celtic).
Agreed. The hyperbole on this board is getting a bit much, especially when describing young and inexperienced players. Terms like "dross", "absolutely awful", "horrendous" etc. I don't know why fans do not just state the obvious, he's struggling with his composure and ability to step up to the first team. He definitely looked more at home in front of the back four in an anchor role in the 21's. Unfortunately he won't get the same luxury in the first team with the importance of the position.
 
Rashford put in MOTM performances against Arsenal, and Midgetland. He also won us the manchester derby.

McNair has been dross. People on here thought Blackett and McNair were the future, Blackett is currently not getting a game for Celtic, and McNair will end up similarly.

Bullshit cliched nonsense.
 
Bullshit cliched nonsense.

Far from it. Read back to when they were being played last season. Many thought Blackett was the better player, especially during the 352 phase.

It's calling a spade a spade for those who are saying its harsh to say he's awful. He just doesn't fit in at this level. Not everyone is going to be good enough from our academy and there's nothing wrong with that.
 
Far from it. Read back to when they were being played last season. Many thought Blackett was the better player, especially during the 352 phase.

It's calling a spade a spade for those who are saying its harsh to say he's awful. He just doesn't fit in at this level. Not everyone is going to be good enough from our academy and there's nothing wrong with that.

Blackett was always called clumsy whoever watched him in U21 and most were not convinced about his talent. McNair was praised a bit more because he performed well last season and was one of our best players at Chelsea.
 
It's calling a spade a spade for those who are saying its harsh to say he's awful. He just doesn't fit in at this level. Not everyone is going to be good enough from our academy and there's nothing wrong with that.
It is not calling a spade a spade. It is using excessive hyperbole to describe young players performances. Donald Love has not even looked close to being ready and able to play for our first team let alone Wigans. That doesn't mean he has been "dross" and he has probably been the only player who has looked completely out of his depth while being called upon by Van Gaal. To describe McNair's performances as "dross" is just ludicrous.

Save the hyperbole for more established players and leave the young guys be and let them develop further.
 
I definitely think McNair was one of the better youngsters that van Gaal has introduced into the first team. He looked a naturally good footballer and had the confidence to try and take responsibility on the ball. Yes he made mistakes, notably that game at Southampton, but I wouldn't give up on him and given how many square pegs in round holes we've had the past two seasons why not try him in midfield ?

Like someone else said Dier has become an international midfielder having been brought 18 months ago as a centre back. A player who can play in various positions I always think knows where's he's best and not necessarily where the coach says.
 
I definitely think McNair was one of the better youngsters that van Gaal has introduced into the first team. He looked a naturally good footballer and had the confidence to try and take responsibility on the ball. Yes he made mistakes, notably that game at Southampton, but I wouldn't give up on him and given how many square pegs in round holes we've had the past two seasons why not try him in midfield ?

Like someone else said Dier has become an international midfielder having been brought 18 months ago as a centre back. A player who can play in various positions I always think knows where's he's best and not necessarily where the coach says.

I think we have better talents from the academy/U21s if we want to promote a midfielder, however I like his confidence on the ball last season for the first team and generally in the U21s.His passing is usually accurate as well when he's on his game.I definitely believe he can become a decent midfielder (by "decent" I mean a PL level player).
 
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If we have Pochettino as a manager then I can see McNair will be given a go in midfield as both Dier and McNair seem to have a similar playing style. But if Mourinho is the manager, I don't think he is going to take a risk to keep him. And it seems LVG doesn't rate him anymore. This Euro 2016 will be his best opportunity to show what he can do as a holding midfielder.
 
If we have Pochettino as a manager then I can see McNair will be given a go in midfield as both Dier and McNair seem to have a similar playing style. But if Mourinho is the manager, I don't think he is going to take a risk to keep him. And it seems LVG doesn't rate him anymore. This Euro 2016 will be his best opportunity to show what he can do as a holding midfielder.

Problem is - that's where I see mensah switching between cB and Cdm during game depending on what we need. Mcnair could do it too but he would be behind mensah and possibly blind next season.
 
Glad to see there are other people who don't think he's all that bad. He showed genuine promise at times last season, the three games that come to mind being Everton, West Ham and Chelsea. I think his awful performance away at Bournemouth this season in a makeshift (at best) back four is far more fresh in the memory for most people than any of those games. Send him out on loan and see if he can find some consistency.

i also think it doesn't help him that he's a defender who came through at the same time as Blackett, who was genuinely quite shit, so he kind of gets lumped in with him - "the likes of Blackett and McNair".
 
What a season McNair has had in the first team. 400 mins of playing time. He's been dreadful for at least half those mins and no better than ok for the rest. Unused sub 24 times so far.

Last season he had just over 1200 mins of playing time in the first team.
 
What a season McNair has had in the first team. 400 mins of playing time. He's been dreadful for at least half those mins and no better than ok for the rest. Unused sub 24 times so far.

Last season he had just over 1200 mins of playing time in the first team.
OK.
 
Was first to comment on Jose too, has a good attitude.

“He’s a world class manager. He’s worked at massive clubs and worked with some of the best players in the world,” McNair said.

“Obviously, I’ll be looking to impress. If I’m playing (in France) hopefully he can watch me and make his opinion of me there. Pre-season will be another chance to impress.

“My aim is to train well and try and impress the new manager. Hopefully he can also give me tips to make me a better player.

“If he likes you as a player he likes you. If he doesn’t he doesn’t. I’ll try my hardest to impress. That will be my aim.”
 
Was first to comment on Jose too, has a good attitude.

“He’s a world class manager. He’s worked at massive clubs and worked with some of the best players in the world,” McNair said.

“Obviously, I’ll be looking to impress. If I’m playing (in France) hopefully he can watch me and make his opinion of me there. Pre-season will be another chance to impress.

“My aim is to train well and try and impress the new manager. Hopefully he can also give me tips to make me a better player.

“If he likes you as a player he likes you. If he doesn’t he doesn’t. I’ll try my hardest to impress. That will be my aim.”
:)
 
Was first to comment on Jose too, has a good attitude.

“He’s a world class manager. He’s worked at massive clubs and worked with some of the best players in the world,” McNair said.

“Obviously, I’ll be looking to impress. If I’m playing (in France) hopefully he can watch me and make his opinion of me there. Pre-season will be another chance to impress.

“My aim is to train well and try and impress the new manager. Hopefully he can also give me tips to make me a better player.

“If he likes you as a player he likes you. If he doesn’t he doesn’t. I’ll try my hardest to impress. That will be my aim.”
Good attitude, wouldn't mind seeing him given a chance in CDM
 
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