Since I probably give Scott the benefit of the doubt most games, here are the areas I think he needs to improve:
- Headers (attacking): He currently has 5 headed attempts at goal in the PL, mostly from corners. The total xG on those headers is slightly over 1 so you would hope he would have scored at least one header. The diving header against Wolves was a decent attempt, the keeper was moving across his line so not easy to calculate where he would be positioned to make a save, yet still it was a chance he should have scored and would have done so with slightly better direction on the header. The flick header that went over the keeper but also the bar from Sanchez's cross against Fulham was promising. Most of the time he seems to lack the physicality to win the challenge in the opposing penalty area. Fellaini was tall and excellent in the air for United. Scott is just tall right now.
- Creative passing: He has to offer more in this area. He can pass between the lines (Palace away match), and there have been a few nicely weighted passes for a full-back or wide player to run on to. I believe if he was to get a run of games in the team, he would gain the confidence to do more of the type of between the lines passes that we have already seen him demonstrate. Whether he can execute through-balls and the subtlety we see from Pogba, may be unrealistic. I hope he at least tries more ambitious passes in training, with the intention of using it in match situations in a few years' time, once he has mastered the technique to some extent.
- Long passes: His long passing is rubbish. Occasionally he will chip the ball successfully to a runner, such as his pass to Lukaku in the build-up to Lingard's winner against Chelsea, or the pass to Mata in the Benfica match. From time to time he will hit a cross-field pass that is fine. Apart from that, the weight and direction is too often miles off. Needs to improve a lot just to reach a vaguely acceptable level.
- Making himself available to receive passes: When posters criticise Scott for hiding when we are in possession, I think there is some truth to it. Again, this is an area of his game that I believe would naturally improve if he was a regular starter. Perhaps I'm being overly optimistic. He could learn from Fred in this aspect of the game. Actively look to get more involved in the build-up.
- Driving forwards with the ball once he has won it: Too often the opportunity to move forwards is available but he doesn't take it. Got to be more ambitious when the space opens up, even though the next pass is likely to be far more difficult than he typically makes.
- Challenges: In his first full season he was guilty of wild tackles immediately after he had lost possession, that earned him a booking. He picked up 4 yellow cards last season in about 1300 mins playing time. I'm not sure if he has learned to stay calm, or if this type of situation hasn't occurred as often in his limited mins on the pitch this season.
- Control: His control isn't great. Unlike other aspects of his game, I doubt whether he can make much of an improvement at this stage. I'd like to see him reduce the number of poor touches. Concentration appears to be the issue for some other players but I'm not sure if that's the case with Scott.
- Final third play: Massive room for improvement here. Part of it is simply understanding what tends to work in this area of the pitch and what doesn't. Then tons of practice in training. If he is given 25 PL starts in a season, will he deliver at least a couple of assists, perhaps from good crosses ? Can he find space to score relatively simple goals ? Or set-up someone else to make an assist ? Right now, it seems to me that Fred and Andreas are miles ahead of him in terms of their quality and contribution in the final third. If Ander Herrera leaves and Scott is given the chance to replace him (seems unlikely), I would be concerned that he might not come close to matching Ander's contribution in the final third.
- Defensive play: Room for improvement defending corners, reducing the number of times his man gets free, being careful not to risk giving away a penalty while still making it difficult for his opponent. Very few of our players seem to have mastered the precise off-side line we are meant to be holding. Tracking runners, interceptions. I think small improvements are achievable in these areas.
- Distance Covered, physical strength: Right now these might be his assets but I only have access to CL stats for distance covered, so can't tell if PSG was a one-off mega effort, that he can't sustain, or whether he is capable of regularly out-running our other central midfielders. Similarly, he appears fairly strong (apart from aerial challenges) but probably room for improvement here too.
Anyway, perhaps in a year I'll take a look to see if there have been any noticeable improvements. One of the things I'm very poor at predicting, is the extent to which young players will manage to improve certain aspects of their game. Welbeck's composure in the penalty area and Januzaj's shooting and his lack of physical strength, being classic examples of where I've just assumed they would naturally get better. The time frame for improvement is another aspect that I have absolutely no idea about.
Anyone noticed anything else that he might improve ? Must be a lot I have missed.
