[Kostur]

I don't care. Everyone is Mr. Know all and Knee jerk here.

That's including you because your opinion sounds ridiculous.

Yes, people wanted him benched when he couldn't hit barn door if it was in front of him, not when we're chasing the score and he's scored 3 in 2 and looked the best from our strikers yesterday untill that Falcao goal.

 

[legball]

That's including you because your opinion sounds ridiculous.

Yes, people wanted him benched when he couldn't hit barn door if it was in front of him, not when we're chasing the score and he's scored 3 in 2 and looked the best from our strikers yesterday untill that Falcao goal.

That's fine. When he couldn't hit a barn door, we didn't have much in terms of an alternative, I never understood why many of you refused to see it then. Yesterday we had Falcao and so, LVG could afford to take him off. I don't think he was playing particularly well, and he missed a good opportunity too, Falcao had just scored - thought he along with Mata should have been subbed off.

 

[Acole9]

I thought did ok yesterday, can't score in every game. It wasn't an Arsenal type performance by any means he was involved in parts.

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Have we ever had a more selfish player than him?

Right now there are about 3 in the attacking department.

 

[Revan]

Right now there are about 3 in the attacking department.

Who?

 

[Cassidy]

Who?

This should be interesting...

 

[Invictus]

Anyone else think that Van Persie is starting to mirror Ruud from 2005-2006. Excellent player, we're very grateful for what they did for United, quite productive but a bit static and in order to progress as a team we might need to get rid despite their good goal-scoring records ? Of course we don't have equivalent of a young Wayne and Ronaldo duo like then so it might be a more difficult transition long term but there has been a gradual degradation in terms of his performances and he's becoming increasingly one dimensional as opposed to the all-action focal point of attack he was through 2011-2013.

 

[Revan]

Anyone else think that Van Persie is starting to mirror Ruud from 2005-2006. Excellent player, we're very grateful for what they did for United, quite productive but a bit static and in order to progress as a team we might need to get rid despite their good goal-scoring records ? Of course we don't have equivalent of a young Wayne and Ronaldo duo like then so it might be a more difficult transition long term but there has been a gradual degradation in terms of his performances and he's becoming increasingly one dimensional as opposed to the all-action focal point of attack he was through 2011-2013.

Thinking more like this with every day passing. I think that he slows our game and doesn't even try to pass to people when he can make a shoot on the goal.

If Falcao reaches a high level, then RVP should either go to bench or get sold IMO. If is the main point though, so far Robin has been better (well more fit) than Falcao.

 

[Cassidy]

Anyone else think that Van Persie is starting to mirror Ruud from 2005-2006 ? Excellent players, we're very grateful for what they did for United, quite productive but a bit slow and one dimensional; and in order to progress as a team and fluent attacking unit we might need to get rid despite their good goal-scoring records ?

Of course we don't have equivalent of a young Wayne and Ronaldo duo like then so it might be a more difficult transition long term but there has been a gradual degradation in terms of his performances and he's becoming increasingly inconsistent as opposed to the all-action focal point of attack he was through 2011-2013.

Hmm not so sure tbh, some of the runs he makes our other strikers just don't make, shame we don't have enough brave midfielders to make the pass half the time. Its only really Di Maria, Blind, or Carrick that would even dare.
Jury is out on Falcao though, as I see him making similar runs and no-one passing to him... sigh

EDIT: In a game where we're getting the ball wide and relying on wide man, Young and Valencia to create something, he isn't really going to shine as we saw last season

 

[Nighteyes]

Have we ever had a more selfish player than him? Why he doesn't pass when other players (in most cases Falcao) are in better positions than him? Is he playing for the numbers of goals he'll score or for the team?

Christiano rollaroundo comes to mind.

 

[Invictus]

Hmm not so sure tbh, some of the runs he makes our other strikers just don't make, shame we don't have enough brave midfielders to make the pass half the time. Its only really Di Maria, Blind, or Carrick that would even dare.
Jury is out on Falcao though, as I see him making similar runs and no-one passing to him... sigh

EDIT: In a game where we're getting the ball wide and relying on wide man, Young and Valencia to create something, he isn't really going to shine as we saw last season

Yup, to be fair to Robin he has been making a lot of intelligent runs so it's not just his fault.

But even considering that, is relying on a a player who's becoming more restricted like a pure #9 the best course of action for the future ? Most of the elite clubs like United have a more balanced and complete striker who stretches defenses, presses the defenses on a consistent basis, physically holds up the ball well and contributes not just in terms of goals but being a foil for the other attackers to move around.

PSG has Ibrahimovic, Real has Benzema who while not the most productive striker does contribute a lot to their overall play, Bayern with Lewandowski, City with Aguero and so forth. Those players are just more dynamic I feel so even if they don't score themselves they can make up in other ways. With Robin there's a trend of him getting more desperate (?) when he doesn't score because he has more limited options to directly influence the game as opposed to some of the strikers mentioned above.

Dunno, perhaps I'm being hypercritical but Robin seems to be becoming more and more like Raul or Ruud when they turned 30+ and their ability to remain consistent for a whole season dropped..

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Who?

ADM by a certain distance, and Mata and Falcao.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I was disappointed that he was taken off. Even if he isn't having his best game, there is a chance that he would get you a winner.

 

[LeChuck]

RvP made a lot or great runs yesterday and wasn't picked up for any of them.

Having said that he missed a great chance early on and should have scored later on when he hit it straight at Guzan.

If I was LvG, I'd swap RvP and falcaos position from yday. Play falcao further up and drop RvP (positionally). I think we'd see a bit more from both players.

 

[Revan]

ADM by a certain distance, and Mata and Falcao.

Di Maria gets at times on shooting mode from any position, but he doesn't waste chances like RVP does by refusing to pass the ball.

Mata is nonsense IMO, he usually goes for the pass even when he is on a good position to shoot (for example like the assist to RVP against Liverpool). And Falcao generally passes the ball immediately when he receives it.

Christiano rollaroundo comes to mind.

Probably, but is really close.

 

[Cassidy]

ADM by a certain distance, and Mata and Falcao.

Are you kidding

 

[Cassidy]

Yup, to be fair to Robin he has been making a lot of intelligent runs so it's not just his fault.

But even considering that, is relying on a a player who's becoming more restricted like a pure #9 the best course of action for the future ? Most of the elite clubs like United have a more balanced and complete striker who stretches defenses, presses the defenses on a consistent basis, physically holds up the ball well and contributes not just in terms of goals but being a foil for the other attackers to move around.

PSG has Ibrahimovic, Real has Benzema who while not the most productive striker does contribute a lot to their overall play, Bayern with Lewandowski, City with Aguero and so forth. Those players are just more dynamic I feel so even if they don't score themselves they can make up in other ways. With Robin there's a trend of him getting more desperate (?) when he doesn't score because he has more limited options to directly influence the game as opposed to some of the strikers mentioned above.

Dunno, perhaps I'm being hypercritical but Robin seems to be becoming more and more like Raul or Ruud when they turned 30+ and their ability to remain consistent for a whole season dropped..

You maybe right, but you didn't need to put the Benzema not being the most productive, he is actually VERY productive

I don't liken RVP to those types of strikers though, he has never been that type of player. It depends how we want to play, plus if we're playing with 2 up top I think it helps to have someone like him i.e a Bergkamp/Sherringham type player.

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Di Maria gets at times on shooting mode from any position, but he doesn't waste chances like RVP does by refusing to pass the ball.

Mata is nonsense IMO, he usually goes for the pass even when he is on a good position to shoot (for example like the assist to RVP against Liverpool). And Falcao generally passes the ball immediately when he receives it.

If the shot was such a waste of a chance, it implies that he should have taken the shot anyway. The defender did well to nudge him off balance. The same as with the Falcao chance in the first half, he could also have done something different with it. I don't blame him, because strikers have to strike, and can't score if they can't miss, and they can't assist when they can't take the risk of an intererception. Mata, not beeing a striker, should more often look for the third man and not aiming for the assist or shot all the time.

I don't think it's a coincedence that Villa bounced back from the ropes after Van Persie was taken off, because a lot of his movement makes space for others and he often is there to keep the posession and attacks going.

There's a lot of eagerness here to blame Van Persie, didn't the humble pie of the last weeks go down well and now it's coming all out again?

 

[Revan]

If the shot was such a waste of a chance, it implies that he should have taken the shot anyway. The defender did well to nudge him off balance. The same as with the Falcao chance in the first half, he could also have done something different with it. I don't blame him, because strikers have to strike, and can't score if they can't miss, and they can't assist when they can't take the risk of an intererception. Mata, not beeing a striker, should more often look for the third man and not aiming for the assist or shot all the time.

I don't think it's a coincedence that Villa bounced back from the ropes after Van Persie was taken off, because a lot of his movement makes space for others and he often is there to keep the posession and attacks going.

There's a lot of eagerness here to blame Van Persie, didn't the humble pie of the last weeks go down well and now it's coming all out again?

Err, I have been one of his biggest fans on the last two seasons and defended him when a lot of people were talking bad for him last season.

I also didn't ever said that he doesn't create space for the others with his movement. What I was saying is that he has been very selfish this season, and generally tries to shoot even if the other players (especially Falcao) are in far better positions. At times he scores (like he did against Leicester?) despite that wasn't in a great position while Falcao was completely free and at times loses chances (like yesterday when he could have easily passed to Falcao). I mean he went crazy when Wilson didn't pass to him a few weeks ago, but he does the same every week.

If Rooney sees that an another player is on a better position, he passes the ball. Regardless that he could improve his goal stats by shooting. It is in the end a team game, and this season it looks to me that RVP is more interested in his stats rather than the team.

 

[bosnian_red]

ADM by a certain distance, and Mata and Falcao.

The question was more selfish players right? And you're saying di maria, falcao and mata? Ignoring that 2 of them are our supposed to be our main creative players, di maria does dribble past players and have shots from range but he does it to open up space and make a chance, is definitely not him being selfish as he isn't a selfish player at all. Mata never takes players on on his own and rarely shoots so that's ridiculous, and Falcao is a poacher who usually passes the ball right away. Van Persie is definitely our most selfish player, but that's not a big thing to say as he isn't very selfish himself, for the type of striker he is.

 

[ZDwyr]

I'd say Di Maria is more selfish, or at least rivals RvP in that regard. Don't agree with Mata and Falcao though.

 

[markhrad]

If the shot was such a waste of a chance, it implies that he should have taken the shot anyway. The defender did well to nudge him off balance. The same as with the Falcao chance in the first half, he could also have done something different with it. I don't blame him, because strikers have to strike, and can't score if they can't miss, and they can't assist when they can't take the risk of an intererception. Mata, not beeing a striker, should more often look for the third man and not aiming for the assist or shot all the time.

I don't think it's a coincedence that Villa bounced back from the ropes after Van Persie was taken off, because a lot of his movement makes space for others and he often is there to keep the posession and attacks going.

There's a lot of eagerness here to blame Van Persie, didn't the humble pie of the last weeks go down well and now it's coming all out again?

Totally agree with you. The problem is that RVP has not being getting enough service and the recent games in which he scored were more about his anticipation and intelligence. So now that he has not scored people are writing him off again. The amount of times Mata has passed to him n an attacking situation you can literally count on one hand. Rooney, however, does seem to look for him more now but still not enough.

 

[Maroo]

The only reason why LVG might have taken him off was to rest him for Friday and Sunday

 

[MDFC Manager]

He needs Carrick in midfield. He's the only one who consistently sees his runs. Clearly he prefers crosses from deep midfield, rather than crosses from the byline

 

[carlosp]

RvP played well I thought, pity he got taken off as Gabby soon after got sent off and RvP would have been the ideal player to put pressure on Villa then. Really shouldn't have been subbed.

 

[Mark_GrumpyLion]

RvP played well I thought, pity he got taken off as Gabby soon after got sent off and RvP would have been the ideal player to put pressure on Villa then. Really shouldn't have been subbed.

This was our biggest mistake in the game I think. Sure, a lot of players failed to turn up and switching Young to the side where he was not dangerous (at all) was poor, but taking RvP off killed the game for me. The man has a knack for scoring, especially when we're up again 10 men and there is more space available for him to do his thing.

 

[Kostur]

Just so it doesn't get overlooked, he's done great job for the first goal. Dragged Coloccini out of his zone which left Rooney with enough space to put it in.

LVG must be happy for those goals scored, total football with great team work there.

 

[DevilRed]

Encouraging to see him and Falcao already striking up an understanding with their runs. They are dragging the centrebacks all over the shop. Its not a coincidence that Rooney got two open shots in the box by simply running forwards.

 

[LLMU]

Good to see him and Falcao going on opposite directions to open up Newcastle defense. Really good understanding of their position n this game

 

[markhrad]

Yes. It looks like their runs crisscross all the time. Still think Mata is missing too many opportunities to deliver a through pass in dangerous positions to RVP.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Keep floating balls over him, centrally from midfield, and he'll keep scoring from them all day long. He probably makes a minimum of ten drool worthy runs each half. Need to use those better

 

[Firstouch20]

His movement is exceptional. I've noticed that Mata with the exception of the Liverpool goal never seems to want to pass to Robin

 

[Danny Boi]

Keep floating balls over him, centrally from midfield, and he'll keep scoring from them all day long. He probably makes a minimum of ten drool worthy runs each half. Need to use those better

Definately it what he does best.I think it was Carrick first game back that he gave RVP 3 or 4 overhead balls.Didn't get a goal that day but he needs to start doing it more.

 

[JohnnyLaw]

I've noticed that Mata with the exception of the Liverpool goal never seems to want to pass to Robin

Noticed this too, there was one time today where it was extra blatant. RvP was completely open in a great position but Mata tried a 1/10 pass for someone else. Maybe Robin got him a shit christmas present.

 

[Devil may care]

Good movement and a nice header to cap off a good diplay today.

 

[OneUnited24]

Funny what a bit of confidence does for strikers. Looks a completely different player from the start of the season.

SAF was right the WC probably took a lot out of him

 

[Amethyst]

Starting to hit his stride now, said on the podcast if he can play most of the games this season he'll get at least 20.

 

[2mufc0]

Good display, still missed a good chance when he went around the keeper, should have slotted that in.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Good display, still missed a good chance when he went around the keeper, should have slotted that in.

Yup, I was backing him to score that one

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

The intelligence and composure of the 3 forwards was just absolutely delightful. No more coming back from games and saying "We created a ton of chances but couldn't score" with this bunch. Love the efficiency.