[Sam]

His general play isn't the sort of thing that should deteriorate with age though, it should just be form/confidence. Which as i say should improve once we create some chances for him and he gets scoring.

Di Maria set him up about 4/5 times in his first few matches, and RVP missed every single one.

 

[2 man midfield]

Di Maria set him up about 4/5 times in his first few matches, and RVP missed every single one.

Which games? I don't remember.

 

[slir32]

He played 38 league games in his first season. That's as injury free as it gets.

I know that but i was talking about this current season.

 

[Sam]

Which games? I don't remember.

It was in Di Maria's first few games iirc. So Burnley/Leicester/QPR. Plus he missed a couple against Chelsea.

 

[iBoss]

Falcao who's perma crock, Wilson who's just a kid and mata who he clearly doesn't rate? Sure

Falcao is back fit now.
Wilson is being given chances for a reason.
He obviously doesn't rate Hernandez either.

 

[2 man midfield]

It was in Di Maria's first few games iirc. So Burnley/Leicester/QPR. Plus he missed a couple against Chelsea.

I'd be lying if i said i'd noticed a decline in his finishing, but i'll take your word for it. I'd still trust him to put the chances away though, if and when we can start making a few.

 

[starman]

What was the game recently where he was only 5 yards out and he sliced the ball to the corner flag?

 

[Listar]

There must be a reason why lvg keeps on selecting him. Is it his off the ball run? Better goal poacher? Better understanding with Rooney partnership?

I mean surely Rooney up top with mata/di Maria in the hole will offer more?

Hopefully someone can give a good analysis of what Rvp does on the pitch that keeps getting him selected.

I'm scratching my head on that one.

 

[WyoManU]

He is useless. I don't care about reputation or past abilities. Right now he does absolutely nothing for us.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

On form he's our best player, but the problem is he just can't seem to do anything right now. Okay he hardly gets any service but he used to create chances himself out of nowhere 12 months ago, wdf happened to that player?

If Falcao is fit and ready then RVP needs to be dropped for a bit, but I wouldn't replace RVP with Wilson because Wilson hasn't exactly done anything of note either when he's played.

 

[Offside]

He is useless. I don't care about reputation or past abilities. Right now he does absolutely nothing for us.

He has scored some crucial goals already....the winner against West Ham, late goal against Chelsea....

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

He is useless. I don't care about reputation or past abilities. Right now he does absolutely nothing for us.

Useless? Did you actually watch the match? The entire team except for the defence and GK was useless, we had zero control and could only counter attack, even Aguero and Costa would have look lost if their teams did that. For 90% of the game we were pinned into our own half like idiots, what exactly did you want him to do?

 

[Shark]

Useless? Did you actually watch the match? The entire team except for the defence and GK was useless, we had zero control and could only counter attack, even Aguero and Costa would have look lost if their teams did that. For 90% of the game we were pinned into our own half like idiots, what exactly did you want him to do?

We were under the cosh for large periods, but saying we had zero control is rubbish. Plenty of our players put in solid performances. Not just our goalkeeper and defenders.

 

[Dargonk]

He has clearly lost something about his game. When he first joined us, he was able to create his own chances out of nothing and half chances more often than not was all that was needed to score or at least work the keeper. Yet right now he is totally reliant on other players to create chances for him, and any half chances that do drop to him more often than not get blocked by the defenders.

I'd be happy to see him dropped right now, particularly if Falcao is fit again. I'm in two minds about replacing him with Wilson. Wilson would give us that added movement, but at the same time I'm not sure if he is ready to lead the line for us on a regular bases. Ideally if Falcao can't start, you would drop RVP and push Rooney further forwards and play Mata just behind him.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

Did you actually watch the match? because that's complete rubbish.

What? Our entire midfield was pressed to death and couldn't get a hold in the game, both Carrick and Fellaini did jack all and let Arsenal impose themselves. Our attack also botched most counter attacks. So do tell me who played well then other than the defence and GK?

 

[Shark]

What? Our entire midfield was pressed to death and couldn't get a hold in the game, both Carrick and Fellaini did jack all and let Arsenal impose themselves. Our attack also botched most counter attacks. So do tell me who played well then other than the defence and GK?

We weren't half as shit as some people are making out, we were diabolical for the first 20 or so minutes but we played well in the second half and contained Arsenal well for the most part. Fellaini certainly didn't do jack shit and if you believe that, you need to take a look at the game again instead of accusing others of not watching it in an attempt to defend RVP's poor performance.

 

[Kakeru]

I'd be happy to see him dropped right now, particularly if Falcao is fit again. I'm in two minds about replacing him with Wilson. Wilson would give us that added movement, but at the same time I'm not sure if he is ready to lead the line for us on a regular bases. Ideally if Falcao can't start, you would drop RVP and push Rooney further forwards and play Mata just behind him.

I would take the risk with Wilson TBH. When RVP is becoming more of a burden for his teammates, the problem grows bigger because he's a veteran. This is where Louis should stop over-protecting RVP. By keeping a veteran who keeps on underperforming while others, some younger, provide more energy on the pitch, there could be a problem in the long run in the dressing room and frustration could grow among several individuals when it should be kept to one ATM. It's a reality that exists in all professional sports.

Until Falcao returns, Wilson should be in and RVP should serve time on the bench. Either way, something has to be done before it has ramifications inside the dressing room.

 

[red_7]

time for him to be dropped!

 

[IwatUwat]

12 touches 3 of which corners against a big rival - not good enough. He doesnt look at it remotely currently! Needs to be dropped and see if he can make impact from the bench and if not he stays there.

 

[The Purley King]

I've said it before, but he looks old and feeble at the moment.
Arteta dispossessed him comfortably a couple of times on Saturday and he is probably the weakest player in the league.
Yes - he didn't get much service, but he's got to offer more than that I'm afraid.
Would bench him immediately. Either Falcao or Wilson starts ahead of him from here on in. If Falcao isn't fit, then Wilson it is - and I think LVG has the balls to do it.

 

[thepolice123]

I reckon he's shot. Looks like we'll have to wait and see whether can he recapture his form.

 

[Viral United]

RVP is in short of confidence give him time and he will come good.
I think our defensive injuries means we have change our general style of play which didn't help him.
Yes there are worries sign but some of criticism are way to over the top.

 

[Adebesi]

I refuse to believe that RVP is past it. Obviously it is possible with his age and his injuries but Im not there yet in terms of accepting its happened.

I say drop him for a couple of games and then bring him on as a sub in a few games, like maybe against Southampton depending on the circumstances and see what he looks like then.

The bottom line is he isnt delivering right now and Rooney will do a better job in his position, we have very good cover for Rooney's position so it makes sense. Then the onus is on RVP to play himself back into the team, which I believe he can do. If he cant then its sad but between Falcao, Rooney and Wilson we have competition for that spot.

Someone said it yesterday: you can blame the service for his lack of involvement in the game but it is almost inconceivable that Rooney would have gone the entire game with less than 10 touches or whatever it was. He might not have done a great deal with it if he was having an off day but no way would he let the game pass him by like that, he would have come deep to make something happen for himself.

Its bizarre what is going on with him at the moment. It is exactly what Van Gaal was supposed to be famous for NOT doing, playing people on reputation rather than what they are actually offering.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

We weren't half as shit as some people are making out, we were diabolical for the first 20 or so minutes but we played well in the second half and contained Arsenal well for the most part. Fellaini certainly didn't do jack shit and if you believe that, you need to take a look at the game again instead of accusing others of not watching it in an attempt to defend RVP's poor performance.

Stop talking rubbish, you clearly didn't watch the game if you think Fellaini played well. He was average at best.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Stop talking rubbish, you clearly didn't watch the game if you think Fellaini played well. He was average at best.

I have just seen the game again and that performance by RVP was one of the worst performances by a United player I have seen in the last 15 yrs. A lot of our players did pretty well after the first 20 minutes, Rooney and ADM both playing in attacking roles made themselves available for the ball, pressed hard without it and created a few openings. Fellaini stole the ball away so many times in midfield and did do an OK job keeping it. Now coming to RVP, he had 12 touches out of which 3 were corners he took. Everytime the ball was played to him he lost it easily getting physically bullied by Arteta twice. I genuinely can't think of one thing he did well in the 70 minutes he was on the pitch for.

 

[talking robot]

He has played a lot of football in the last 5-6 months or so, and this is probably coming at the wrong time for him in terms of his age. I think it would make more sense to give him a bit of a break, let him come in off the bench for the last 20 minutes in a few games, and re-build up his confidence and fitness levels. He's definitely not finished, but I think he could really benefit from a bit of a rest.

 

[Speak]

I have just seen the game again and that performance by RVP was one of the worst performances by a United player I have seen in the last 15 yrs. A lot of our players did pretty well after the first 20 minutes, Rooney and ADM both playing in attacking roles made themselves available for the ball, pressed hard without it and created a few openings. Fellaini stole the ball away so many times in midfield and did do an OK job keeping it. Now coming to RVP, he had 12 touches out of which 3 were corners he took. Everytime the ball was played to him he lost it easily getting physically bullied by Arteta twice. I genuinely can't think of one thing he did well in the 70 minutes he was on the pitch for.

There was one moment: He spun his man on the halfway line once, in the second half on the break. And then passed to Di Maria who was offside.
I nearly fell off my seat.

 

[Black Adder]

Should've been dropped long time ago yet regulary gets his chance to stink on the field. LVG should stop with favoritism and play either Rooney up top, or Falcao when healthy, RVP shouldn't be anywhere near starting eleven.

 

[markhrad]

The man gets no service. His main supplier should be whoever is playing in the No 10 role, Rooney or Mata, but despite RVP's movement and raising his hand for the ball, he does not get it.
Instead of going for glory themselves other players should feed the player who's role on the team is to put the ball in the net. That's what Chelsea and City are doing.

 

[Henrik Larsson]

There was one moment: He spun his man on the halfway line once, in the second half on the break. And then passed to Di Maria who was offside.
I nearly fell off my seat.

He spun, Di Maria looked offside so he waited, then Di Maria ran into offside again, I completely lost it after that, like wtf. Pretty much summed it up, very unlucky situation, literally 95/100 times Di Maria would've been through on goal. I imagine LvG and his video-analysis obsessed staff will definitely use that moment to try and improve.

To be fair, 2.5 months ago ago Ajax played vs PSG in the Champions League. Zlatan made comments before the match how it was a special match for him, first time playing against his old club and all. He failed to make an impact and didn't score, playing against Joel Veltman (midget) and Moisander (poor man's Vertonghen). I remember reading a lot of comments on both Ajax and neutral boards (are there PSG forums? I should check that out) how Zlatan might be past it, aged 33 and looking slow. Based on that match the criticism seemed fair, and I guess the same goes for RVP. Elite strikers should always do more and should always be the best player on the pitch. If they're not, they get slack, unfair as that may seem.

 

[Will Singh]

According to Daily Mail (just read the headline) RVP on had 13 touches against Arsenal and 3 were corners, 2 must be from kick off so 8 in open play!!

Lvg has some explaining to do if he is picking Fellaini over Herrera due to form them Wilson or Mata should be on the pitch not RVP?

 

[Dante]

Some of his runs have been pretty good, but his finishing has generally been shit. It's been obvious at times that our other attackers have decided to go it alone rather than make the pass. I don't think the rest of the team has the unimpeachable confidence in him that they used to. He's still useful in dragging defenders away, but he needs to start finishing chances when he gets them or he'll never be anything other than a dummy runner again.

 

[Borys]

RVP is in short of confidence give him time and he will come good.

I think our defensive injuries means we have change our general style of play which didn't help him.

Yes there are worries sign but some of criticism are way to over the top.

Short of confidence? I don’t think so. He’s playing regularly in his best position under his fellow manager. How much time do you think he needs?

Confidence seems to be the most common excuse these days. I remember people saying Valencia’s “form” is a matter of confidence despite both SAF and Moyes playing him week-in week-out. IMO RvP just needs a rest right now. And he should not be a starter for us (considering how many options in attack we have).

 

[Mad Winger]

Sorry to say, but I think he's past it already. He's had one world class season, followed by a decent season(seeing as he was injured half the time), followed by his possible decline in the third. If he fails to recover, will he go down as a good or bad signing?

I think it boils down to this: do you think we would have won the 2013 season without RVP?

If the answer is "no", then he was a good signing after all. But if the answer is "yes", then I struggle to see how this was a good signing. He alienated Kagawa, Welbeck and Hernandez and forced us to try a weak partnership(Rooney + RVP). I think the team as a whole would have been much better off if we never signed RVP. But it remains to be seen. If he recovers, then I might have to eat those words.

 

[Shimo]

It's not often that top players suddenly are just done - there usually is a decline but, it's not unheard of. Torres comes to mind - world class to a joke in an instant. RVP seems to have taken that path. There have been odd games here and there but, for the most part he seems like he's just done as a top player. Hope that's not the case but, right now can't see what it would take for him to get back to his old self - he is playing all the time, in 'small' games where he should dominate and in big games where he should look up for it but, doesn't.

We are not putting enough pressure on opposing CB right now and if LVG actually wants us to start scoring goals more regularly, he needs to put RVP on the bench for a few games.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

He definitely is on very poor form at the moment, no one can deny that. His reactions are slow, he often hesitates to make a decision and needs one too many touches on the ball. He also seems to be very low on confidence in the last couple of games. But he also had some decent games this season, don't forget that he worked his arse off in the Everton game when we down to ten men. If he had scored one or two goals when he had a clear chance (his missed opportunity against Burnley is one that comes in mind) and given us some points, we would be having a different discussion.

The problem we have in creating goal scoring opportunities is more general and i think it's in the core of LvG's thoughts whenever he mentions the word philosophy. Dropping RvP won't make us attacking juggernauts, i only wish it was that simple. Imo the problem goes deeper, it's about our ability to create pockets of space in the final third without using pace but good off the ball movement and our brains.

The whole team seems to be struggling in that area atm, not only RvP. I think that LvG used to play RvP every week in the beginning of the season because he thought that he didn't need any time to adopt to the new style of football. But we must not forget that Falcao is van Gaal's signing too. I believe that if Falcao becomes fit and shows the manager during the training sessions that he can do the job better than RvP he will find his way in the starting line up.

Same thing goes for Wilson. The utilization of our youngsters and of players like Fellaini and Valencia shows that if a player can help the team's plan on the pitch LvG has no problem to use him. I also believe there aren't that many options available as some think. It's not like we have many points of reference in the team. There's Rooney, Carrick (although he seems a very low profile player) and De Gea who will become a point of reference (and probably one of the captains) if/when he signs his new contract. It's necessary to insist on some experienced players when the whole team tries to improve under a new manager. The players who didn't get playing time are always the "best" if the result is bad or if there are some under performers. LvG probably believes that our attacking woes are a team problem and not the fault of any individual.

What makes it worse for RvP is that he's the forward who must play in the box, between the CBs, and our inability to attack through the middle and get players on the ball in between the lines doesn't allow him to have many quality touches on the ball himself or many good angles to shoot. Anyway, there are rumors about Cavani once more and it will be interesting to see LvG's decisions on the matter.

 

[Shark]

It's not often that top players suddenly are just done - there usually is a decline but, it's not unheard of. Torres comes to mind - world class to a joke in an instant. RVP seems to have taken that path. There have been odd games here and there but, for the most part he seems like he's just done as a top player. Hope that's not the case but, right now can't see what it would take for him to get back to his old self - he is playing all the time, in 'small' games where he should dominate and in big games where he should look up for it but, doesn't.

We are not putting enough pressure on opposing CB right now and if LVG actually wants us to start scoring goals more regularly, he needs to put RVP on the bench for a few games.

Is it sudden though? he's been way below par since SAF retired basically.

 

[Speak]

Sorry to say, but I think he's past it already. He's had one world class season, followed by a decent season(seeing as he was injured half the time), followed by his possible decline in the third. If he fails to recover, will he go down as a good or bad signing?

I think it boils down to this: do you think we would have won the 2013 season without RVP?

If the answer is "no", then he was a good signing after all. But if the answer is "yes", then I struggle to see how this was a good signing. He alienated Kagawa, Welbeck and Hernandez and forced us to try a weak partnership(Rooney + RVP). I think the team as a whole would have been much better off if we never signed RVP. But it remains to be seen. If he recovers, then I might have to eat those words.

I think so, absolutely. Fair enough, he turned draws into wins etc.. But would those games have actually needed winning so often had we played a front three of Kagawa, Rooney and Welbeck (and maybe spent that £25 million on a midfielder)?

I don't believe so. Our football would have been better, and it still would be now.
However, I guess you could say he was worth it simply because he didn't join City, where he may or may not have had a similar individual impact and given them a boost.

At the end of the day, I think his signing solved something that didn't really need solving (our goalscoring) while creating a handful of problems.

 

[bosnian_red]

It's not often that top players suddenly are just done - there usually is a decline but, it's not unheard of. Torres comes to mind - world class to a joke in an instant. RVP seems to have taken that path. There have been odd games here and there but, for the most part he seems like he's just done as a top player. Hope that's not the case but, right now can't see what it would take for him to get back to his old self - he is playing all the time, in 'small' games where he should dominate and in big games where he should look up for it but, doesn't.

We are not putting enough pressure on opposing CB right now and if LVG actually wants us to start scoring goals more regularly, he needs to put RVP on the bench for a few games.

Its not suddn though, is it? People say it was when fergie retired, but even the second half of 2012/13 he became more inconsistent, not the greatest finishing, but still very good on the whole. It was probably the start of the decline. Last season he had good finishing but really didn't do much in games. This season, his finishing has deserted him and he's pretty much useless.

 

[bosnian_red]

Which games? I don't remember.

Di Maria would have had another 5 assists if RvP took his chances really, a couple against both Leicester and burnley, missed some big chances set up by januzaj against Chelsea, missed that rebound against palace, and there have been others. It's been happening in pretty much every game. If RvP had his finishing from 2-3 seasons ago, just the finishing, he would've had around 10 goals by now probably. Part of why we've been struggling to get results, our strikers haven't been clinical like they were under fergie.