[Rooney in Paris]

The miss was bad, really really awful. But the rest of the game wasn't too bad, I actually thought it was pretty positive. Better than RvP that I'd drop before the Colombian, definitely.

But that miss was really, really bad.

 

[ItsEssexRob]

Definitely not the worst he has been, his all round play was good at times. Nothing like old Falcao though.

I've made my mind up on him now though and it's a no.

The £6m loan punt, would I do it again? Definitely.

Definitely a loan punt is always a good option. In this case it has not worked though.

 

[Brophs]

Definitely not the worst he has been, his all round play was good at times. Nothing like old Falcao though.

I've made my mind up on him now though and it's a no.

The £6m loan punt, would I do it again? Definitely.

All of which would be quite positive it RvP didn't look like he was in his own decline. From being extremely comfortable with our strikers at the start of the season I'm now wondering how the hell we are actually going to solve this. Wilson is still a year or two away from being able to play at a decent level most weeks and he doesn't fancy Rooney up there. I've asked this a few times, but where is the next world class striker going to come from?

 

[Boycott]

Definitely not the worst he has been, his all round play was good at times. Nothing like old Falcao though.

I've made my mind up on him now though and it's a no.

The £6m loan punt, would I do it again? Definitely.

Why? Him being here has caused pure hassle. Rightly or wrongly we lost an academy player who whilst not top quality, has qualities we lack. It's caused another to have to impress in short cameos usually on the wing. It's caused us to sacrifice Mata and Herrera to put him and the other big names in. All for very little. If the ball is not put BANG ON the plate I have no confidence he can get the goals. That's the worst thing. All that money and expectation for something Chicharito could have done.

 

[devil in me]

All of which would be quite positive it RvP didn't look like he was in his own decline. From being extremely comfortable with our strikers at the start of the season I'm now wondering how the hell we are actually going to solve this. Wilson is still a year or two away from being able to play at a decent level most weeks and he doesn't fancy Rooney up there. I've asked this a few times, but where is the next world class striker going to come from?

It's genuinely worrying. There is no doubt that RVP and FALCAO are past their best. You could easily apply that to Rooney as well. We need something fresh up front, ideally someone with a bit of pace and power. But who is out there? There isn't a top striker that springs to mind at all that would be available.

 

[Pexbo]

All of which would be quite positive it RvP didn't look like he was in his own decline. From being extremely comfortable with our strikers at the start of the season I'm now wondering how the hell we are actually going to solve this. Wilson is still a year or two away from being able to play at a decent level most weeks and he doesn't fancy Rooney up there. I've asked this a few times, but where is the next world class striker going to come from?

Switch to 4-3-3 with 1 striker and invest in ine if the world class wide forwards.

 

[Eriku]

You think this game today where he missed and sitter and was probably the worst he has been so far was Falcao looking like his old self?

I refuse to believe a human being posted this legitimately.

Looked more like his old self. You seem to have taken a strong interpretation of what I said, but I stand by that some of the moves he showed today will be goals in other matches when he's found his legs even more.

 

[sunama]

For those who are saying that he can hold the ball up and offer an assist.
Sure, that's fine if you were buying a player for £15M. But when you are going to play as a striker for Man Utd (one of the biggest clubs in the World), offering a few assists doesnt cut it.
You need to be inspirational and a game changer.

A few years back, when our team wasnt playing particularly well, you always thought, well, we have Ruud Van Nistlerooy upfront. We have a chance. 2 Seasons ago, the same could be sent for RvP. Even Rooney.
But Falcao just isnt a game changer.
If were in the Semi Final or Final of a Champions League, could you honestly rely on Falcao to score a sensational goal, out of nothing? That's the sort of striker we need.

He's good. But not great and certainly not good enough to be our No.1 striker.

 

[Adam-Utd]

His finishing just isn't the Falcao I remember or expected. When he went through on goal you would expect him to bury that, I don't understand why he didn't use his left foot, he just had to hit the target that close!

 

[sunama]

I reckon people will still be excusing his performances this season for years to come. It's bizarre.

Yep.
Given his current form, if this guy scored 1 goal, I'd be amazed.

Even if he had a good last few months and knocked in 15 goals odd I would be pretty worried

I'd be in shock if that happened.
So far, he has made 14 appearances and scored 4. Those are the cold hard facts.

I dont think Falcao is a 30 goal a season player, now.
I think 10 goals per season is what you can expect from him (next season). Anything more is a bonus.

And when you think that Costa is currently on 17 goals (and counting), it puts into perspective what Falcao offers.

I think this experiment needs to be put to be shut-down.

 

[Sam]

For those who are saying that he can hold the ball up and offer an assist.
Sure, that's fine if you were buying a player for £15M. But when you are going to play as a striker for Man Utd (one of the biggest clubs in the World), offering a few assists doesnt cut it.
You need to be inspirational and a game changer.

A few years back, when our team wasnt playing particularly well, you always thought, well, we have Ruud Van Nistlerooy upfront. We have a chance. 2 Seasons ago, the same could be sent for RvP. Even Rooney.
But Falcao just isnt a game changer.
If were in the Semi Final or Final of a Champions League, could you honestly rely on Falcao to score a sensational goal, out of nothing? That's the sort of striker we need.

He's good. But not great and certainly not good enough to be our No.1 striker.

He's not even that anymore. He's poor at best.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

I reckon people will still be excusing his performances this season for years to come. It's bizarre.

If he goes on to rediscover his old form, then definitely, and it would be justified. If not, then people will remember this season as the one where Falcao's decline as a world class striker became highly apparent.

Anyway, short of a goal-scoring run that would be nothing short of miraculous at this stage, I can't see us paying even 10m for Falcao (given his enormous wages).

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

Why? Him being here has caused pure hassle. Rightly or wrongly we lost an academy player who whilst not top quality, has qualities we lack. It's caused another to have to impress in short cameos usually on the wing. It's caused us to sacrifice Mata and Herrera to put him and the other big names in. All for very little. If the ball is not put BANG ON the plate I have no confidence he can get the goals. That's the worst thing. All that money and expectation for something Chicharito could have done.

It was definitely worth the gamble. It didn't pay off, but if it had we'd be laughing at the moment.

 

[matherto]

Well and truly Torres'd.

 

[Raw]

Just been reading the first few pages of this thread, never would have thought he would turn out to be this disappointing

 

[Sam]

Just been reading the first few pages of this thread, never would have thought he would turn out to be this disappointing

...

30 goals minimum or feck off

Will 4 do?

 

[Raw]

Will 4 do?

Just 26 to go!

 

[Sam]

Just 26 to go!

You have to laugh

 

[Utd7]

It's genuinely worrying. There is no doubt that RVP and FALCAO are past their best. You could easily apply that to Rooney as well. We need something fresh up front, ideally someone with a bit of pace and power. But who is out there? There isn't a top striker that springs to mind at all that would be available.

Lacazette or even Harry Kane

 

[Freak]

Do not want.

 

[ZDwyr]

Was unsure about when we got him from the beginning and now I am done. He battles hard and shows good strength but he is not worth what we are paying him and what we will need to pay for the full deal. Isn't the same player he was and causes more headaches than solutions for us. Hope he can go somewhere else and do well but it's time to bench him and play him in the less important matches.

 

[KeninDC]

I thnk the Caf's rating for him (6.0) is fair. He's been average. Scored some goals, missed some chances. Problem is that we're paying wages commensurate with a top striker, which is not the case so far. The £40M (if true) fee is also not supported by his performances.

I thought it was silly to write him off early on, as he was recovering match fitness coming off the injury. There's been a slight improvement, but he's not been an elite level striker.

I like his engine-but there's unfortunately been more heat than light. Would take a huge turnaround to justify anything close to his reported fee.

 

[ManUSarge]

I like Falcao. I want him to succeed at Manchester United. I have been hoping to see him return to the form he has had with previous clubs. I have all but lost hope in Falcao after todays match. He looked as if he was going to be pushed off the ball every time he took possession of it. His layoff to RvP for the shot toward the end of the game was the only positive I could think of. He did nothing. I hate to say it but I cannot see him staying past this season.

 

[LLMU]

is Premier League too fast or he is slow ? i lost count the number of times he lost the ball just because he is a second too slow to react.

 

[11101]

Hes playing better than RVP but im starting to think hes never going to be worth what it will cost us to sign him permanently. We're not exactly providing him with chance after chance, but its February, he should be burying those 1 on 1s by now.

 

[Pexbo]

Why? Him being here has caused pure hassle. Rightly or wrongly we lost an academy player who whilst not top quality, has qualities we lack. It's caused another to have to impress in short cameos usually on the wing. It's caused us to sacrifice Mata and Herrera to put him and the other big names in. All for very little. If the ball is not put BANG ON the plate I have no confidence he can get the goals. That's the worst thing. All that money and expectation for something Chicharito could have done.

You're using the benefit of hindsight now. What a wonderful thing it is.

Here's what you thought of Falcao in June last year while talking about Cavani:

Hustle and bustle, determined but lacks that finesse which identifies the best strikers IMO. By that I mean he isn't a striker like RVP, Falcao, Aguero, Suarez who you tip your hat off watching. Underwhelming.

So you identify him as one of the top four strikers in the world but offered the chance again, with no benefit of hindsight, you wouldn't have taken him on £6m loan for a season try before you buy deal just 3 months later?

 

[Water Melon]

Do posters on here think it was a clear cut one on one chance? I thought keeper did an ultimately good job to immediately cut the space and the defender was on his shoulder. RvP had an easier chance imho.

 

[MANU1960]

He gets one or two chances to score per GAME, WTF do u expect, LVG has stiffened United, with his negative approach regardless, of the the opposition!

 

[Bojan11]

He gets one or two chances to score per GAME, WTF do u expect, LVG has stiffened United, with his negative approach regardless, of the the opposition!

He has some pretty easy chances that a so called £45m striker should be taking and he has missed them. It wasn't just the West Ham game too.

Falcao was supposed to be a ruthless finisher. He is anything but that at the moment.

 

[LR7]

My concern right now isn't even that we will sign him permanently. I refuse to believe LvG and Woodward would be so stupid. It's the harm its causing the team at the moment which has the potential to affect our short term targets for this season (namely top four).

I have nothing against him. I backed him returning to his best in here for a long long time. However, he is at the epicentre of all our current issues. The defence (which pundits and oppo fans exaggerate about) isn't even an eigth of the problem Falcao's continued selection is causing.

 

[RikRuud]

I think Falcao is used to being the man up top. Maybe the problem is that he is currently sharing that with V.Persie. They run into eachothers space and there seems to be no chemistry between them what so ever. Maybe we are just more suited to a 1 striker system. Play one or the other, not both.

 

[Welbeckham]

Why are people only talking about that chance? I used to love Falcao's style of play earlier in his career, but it's been pretty clear since November that injuries have ruined him. It's a shame, but he shouldn't be a starter for us. And his career is practically done.

 

[Escobar]

He had a poor game (as did most of our team) and he really should have come off

 

[Pogue Mahone]

My concern right now isn't even that we will sign him permanently. I refuse to believe LvG and Woodward would be so stupid. It's the harm its causing the team at the moment which has the potential to affect our short term targets for this season (namely top four).

I have nothing against him. I backed him returning to his best in here for a long long time. However, he is at the epicentre of all our current issues. The defence (which pundits and oppo fans exaggerate about) isn't even an eigth of the problem Falcao's continued selection is causing.

Amazed that you (and many others) can somehow give Van Persie a pass when discussing our problems up front. He's played a lot more games and been no better. Falcao's been crap but has far better excuses for his crapness. The real elephant in the room is the amount of time his strike partner has been getting on the pitch. Time his performances don't deserve.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

It's a bit annoying that he's here and we have a much better striker out on loan somewhere else.

I accept this is a judgement made fully with the use of hindsight, but yeah... though actually, it's far more annoying that he's playing when we have a great striker - whom we fully own - playing in midfield.

 

[Nights]

Amazed that you (and many others) can somehow give Van Persie a pass when discussing our problems up front. He's played a lot more games and been no better. Falcao's been crap but has far better excuses for his crapness. The real elephant in the room is the amount of time his strike partner has been getting on the pitch. Time his performances don't deserve.

Agreed.

Falcao is getting over a serious knee injury, playing in a new league, with a manager he's not played for before.

RVP has none of those excuses, yet his performance is only marginally better than Falcao's.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Amazed that you (and many others) can somehow give Van Persie a pass when discussing our problems up front. He's played a lot more games and been no better. Falcao's been crap but has far better excuses for his crapness. The real elephant in the room is the amount of time his strike partner has been getting on the pitch. Time his performances don't deserve.

The difference for me is so far, Van persie is paid for - Falcao is going to cost us another £40M .

I like Falcao a lot, but he just isn't what I hoped we would get. I thought he would be stretching teams in behind and finishing like he used too, but at the minute I would have rather kept Hernandez to be honest!

 

[2mufc0]

Surely the price can be renegotiated after current performances? or would it have been agreed when the loan deal was struck? Both wages and fee have to be significantly reduced if we are to sign him.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The difference for me is so far, Van persie is paid for - Falcao is going to cost us another £40M .

I like Falcao a lot, but he just isn't what I hoped we would get. I thought he would be stretching teams in behind and finishing like he used too, but at the minute I would have rather kept Hernandez to be honest!

Yeah, the money is a biggie. Falcao's not exactly made a case for spending any money him, never mind £40m. In a way, that makes life simpler, though. We can just call it quits and walk away in the summer.

RvP is a real problem though. Been shite for ages and is ne of our highest earners so it will be very difficult to find a club to match his current wages if we want rid. If we decide to bite the bullet and sack off both strikers that's going to be a massive headache in the summer. And it looks more and more like that's exactly what we need to do.

 

[Dunk]

He looks so heavy on the pitch. His movement is heavy. His touch is heavy. His running with the ball is heavy. His shots and passes are so laboured. He just doesn't look comfortable. It's like we have a wet mash potato as a striker. When he corked that chance, there was literally three pages of posters on the match day thread ruing the miss. Three pages! that's how bad it was.

Obviously, if he doesn't improve his form and goals scored, we shouldn't buy him.

The only dilemma now is who should be dropped for the next game, him or van Persie. And surely we cannot get rid of both strikers in the summer. That would be crazy. There would only be one option regarding this matter...