Sofyan Amrabat | 2023/24 Performances

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He’s painfully average. What the feck is going on that he’s on our radar.
 
Amrabat plus McTom should have started against those Newcastle giants. Then Mainoo could have came in on 2nd half against tiring Newcastle midfield.
 
He plays the same cross field pass every game…. Gets intercepted every game.

Enough…. Send him home.
 
Didn't have much to do as Newcastle sat back when he came on. Not sure what he offers over hannibal.
 
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Bwuk said:
Is he really any better than Hannibal? Or even Donny?

Absolute passenger.
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Both of them don't play that deep. It is not that I wanted to keep him. We have already paid for him. So not much point kicking him out in the middle of a season.
 
Bwuk said:
Is he really any better than Hannibal? Or even Donny?

Absolute passenger.
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He's a very different player than Donny, and also different than how ETH has used Hannibal (although I do think Hannibal can play the deeper role).

Our joke of a midfield set-up is pretty much a guarantee any player will fail. No remotely decent team only plays with one midfielder, so I'm not writing Amrabat off until we see him get a run with a partner. I certainly wouldn't say that I'm confident in him, but I also don't think he's as bad as many are making out.
 
He's a sticking plaster on, a 10 year old giant crack in a huge dam.

He's OK, but we don't need OK.

Is he doing anything James Garner couldn't have done for us?
 
Bwuk said:
Is he really any better than Hannibal? Or even Donny?

Absolute passenger.
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What he has shown so far is not good enough for United. A squad player, no more. But I don't think any of them would be capable of defending the way he does. The way he killed NCastle's last solo counterattack led by Isak at 90+2...
 
I think ETH realized that he doesn't have the intensity to be a starter in the PL for a top club. That's why he starts in the CL only.
 
Pintu said:
What he has shown so far is not good enough for United. A squad player, no more. But I don't think any of them would be capable of defending the way he does. The way he killed NCastle's last solo counterattack led by Isak at 90+2...
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I think you're right on that compared to those specific players. He did fine there holding up play and Isak overcomplicated it. The other 2 would be a lot more likely to do something in the other direction though. Like get the shot on target that he poorly executed going high and wide
 
Pintu said:
What he has shown so far is not good enough for United. A squad player, no more. But I don't think any of them would be capable of defending the way he does. The way he killed NCastle's last solo counterattack led by Isak at 90+2...
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Yeah, I would have started him over McTominay today for the same reason Antony should have started at RW, which is that we're a more balanced team with players in their actual positions, but it's difficult to argue that we should spend 20M on keeping him instead of putting it towards a larger investment in a massive bid for someone who has at least a decent chance of being good here.
 
Without doing much when he came on it reminded you that matching up the opposition physically can really help. He could at least compete in that sense with Newcastle. Basic stuff really.
 
MadMike said:
Not happening. McTominay full 90
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Dude, if we line up with one midfielder behind McTominay and Bruno again, I'll let out the biggest sigh. It doesn't matter who that one midfielder is: Amrabat, Mainoo, a fully fit Casemiro. It's just a recipe for disaster because the one midfielder is left with way too much work to do.

Whatever you think of Amrabat, and I think many have been too harsh on him myself, he is an actual midfielder. Play him next to another one in Mainoo and let the likes of McTominay and Bruno fight it out for the 10 role ahead of them.
 
Yagami said:
Dude, if we line up with one midfielder behind McTominay and Bruno again, I'll let out the biggest sigh. It doesn't matter who that one midfielder is: Amrabat, Mainoo, a fully fit Casemiro. It's just a recipe for disaster because the one midfielder is left with way too much work to do.

Whatever you think of Amrabat, and I think many have been too harsh on him myself, he is an actual midfielder. Play him next to another one in Mainoo and let the likes of McTominay and Bruno fight it out for the 10 role ahead of them.
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There should be no "fighting it out" to be honest. McTominay has had a 2-month run now (since 7th of October) as a starting player and he has contributed sweet FA. No marking, no playmaking, no G/As. He needs benching full stop.

Bruno needs to be the sole #10 and he needs two midfielders behind him that can do both playmaking and defending. Eriksen can't be one of them because he can't defend at all, he couldn't last year either but now his legs are even more gone after his injuries. It has to be two of Mainoo, Amrabat and Casemiro. Chelsea will play with Caicedo and Fernandez plus a 3rd midfielder (Gallagher is out or it would have been him) and they will have a high-energy, atheltic midfield. If we go out with Bruno, McT (as 10) and only one CM/DM, it will be nothing short of surrendering midfield control.

And if that happens and we lose the game, it's sackable offence from Ten Hag for me. He'd be showing incredible ineptitude, befitting a man with low football IQ.
 
MadMike said:
There should be no "fighting it out" to be honest. McTominay has had a 2-month run now (since 7th of October) as a starting player and he has contributed sweet FA. No marking, no playmaking, no G/As. He needs benching full stop.

Bruno needs to be the sole #10 and he needs two midfielders behind him that can do both playmaking and defending. Eriksen can't be one of them because he can't defend at all, he couldn't last year either but now his legs are even more gone after his injuries. It has to be two of Mainoo, Amrabat and Casemiro. Chelsea will play with Caicedo and Fernandez plus a 3rd midfielder (Gallagher is out or it would have been him) and they will have a high-energy, atheltic midfield. If we go out with Bruno, McT (as 10) and only one CM/DM, it will be nothing short of surrendering midfield control.

And if that happens and we lose the game, it's sackable offence from Ten Hag for me. He'd be showing incredible ineptitude, befitting a man with low football IQ.
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He's scored more goals in that time than Rashford has all year. He's scored as many as Fernandes, and more also than Mount, Amrabat, Martial, Anthony, Eriksen, etc etc
 
Yagami said:
Dude, if we line up with one midfielder behind McTominay and Bruno again, I'll let out the biggest sigh. It doesn't matter who that one midfielder is: Amrabat, Mainoo, a fully fit Casemiro. It's just a recipe for disaster because the one midfielder is left with way too much work to do.

Whatever you think of Amrabat, and I think many have been too harsh on him myself, he is an actual midfielder. Play him next to another one in Mainoo and let the likes of McTominay and Bruno fight it out for the 10 role ahead of them.
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Yes please. Have a solid base from which we can build on. Frustrating to see a lone figure in midfield.
 
Dans said:
He's scored more goals in that time than Rashford has all year. He's scored as many as Fernandes, and more also than Mount, Amrabat, Martial, Anthony, Eriksen, etc etc
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I'm kinda with @MadMike , honestly. McTominay has shown that, when he gets forwards, he is a goal threat, but I don't think that should be the main thing we look at when judging our midfielders. I think their general play and how they influence games from everywhere on the pitch should take priority, and McTominay is too invisible in 2/3s of the pitch to warrant being our main 10.

I've always been a big critic of Bruno's, but he'd still be my first choice because, even in this mess of a midfield we've been playing this season, he's shown positives in terms of creativity, helping us advance the ball from deep, keeping it more simple instead of constantly going Hollywood, etc. McTominay just doesn't get involved enough in the build-up phases. He's a good supersub to have, though, and if Bruno doesn't perform ahead of a stable base, sure, try Scott as our 10.

SoCross said:
Yes please. Have a solid base from which we can build on. Frustrating to see a lone figure in midfield.
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Especially when that lone figure is either a teenager who's playing his first ever games at senior level, a midfielder who's had no pre-season and is new to the league/country, or a midfielder who's basically an old man in football terms now.

It's not like it's a prime Keane or Makelélé we have there who can cover every blade of grass themselves.
 
Dans said:
He's scored more goals in that time than Rashford has all year. He's scored as many as Fernandes, and more also than Mount, Amrabat, Martial, Anthony, Eriksen, etc etc
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Amrabat is playing as DM, comparing goals to McTominay (who is playing as a 10) is dumb. At no point in here did I defend Mount, Martial, Antony or Eriksen, so this strawman attempt don't work.

Anyway, his run of starts was after Brentford, when he scored 2 goals in 3 mins after a late cameo as a sub. Since then he has started 9 games (in 8 of those he played for the full 90') and he has 2 goals and 1 assist, both in the UCL. However when he plays alongside Bruno we have no midfield control and the game becomes end-to-end to our detriment. Bruno is the better #10, our eyes tell us that and he also has 3G + 3A in the same minutes that McTominay has 2G + 1A from the same position, since October when McTominay became starter.

Finally it's not just McTominay I'm criticising, but this tactic of Ten Hag's of playing with two 10s instead of two CMs and one #10. It doesn't work for us, or at least he hasn't been able to make it work this far, and needs abandoning. The team is not better for it.
 
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Yagami said:
I'm kinda with @MadMike , honestly. McTominay has shown that, when he gets forwards, he is a goal threat, but I don't think that should be the main thing we look at when judging our midfielders. I think their general play and how they influence games from everywhere on the pitch should take priority, and McTominay is too invisible in 2/3s of the pitch to warrant being our main 10.

I've always been a big critic of Bruno's, but he'd still be my first choice because, even in this mess of a midfield we've been playing this season, he's shown positives in terms of creativity, helping us advance the ball from deep, keeping it more simple instead of constantly going Hollywood, etc. McTominay just doesn't get involved enough in the build-up phases. He's a good supersub to have, though, and if Bruno doesn't perform ahead of a stable base, sure, try Scott as our 10.


Especially when that lone figure is either a teenager who's playing his first ever games at senior level, a midfielder who's had no pre-season and is new to the league/country, or a midfielder who's basically an old man in football terms now.

It's not like it's a prime Keane or Makelélé we have there who can cover every blade of grass themselves.
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I kind of agree but can't help think that he still has more impact than most!
 
I refuse to make a judgement before he gets a proper chance.
Him and Mainoo should start together so we don't concede 20+ shots a match.
The way we set up atm would make prime Keane look like Djemba Djemba.
 
Dans said:
I kind of agree but can't help think that he still has more impact than most!
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Honestly, when he's actually on the ball, I think he makes a lot of positive contributions to the team. He's good at winning fouls to give the team a breather, he's shown he can keep the ball under pressure, he occasionally goes on effective marauding runs to get us upfield.

Problem is actually getting him on the ball! The whole invisible criticism he gets isn't overblown, in my opinion. There are times you forget he's on the pitch.

I actually think his best game recently was against Luton at home. At the start of the game, he was doing his usual invisible man shtick as our 8 which led to Maguire having a go at him for his positioning, but, after Eriksen went off injured and he moved to the 6 role accommodate Mount, he was good because he was forced to get on the ball. He couldn't hide behind opposition players.

I don't think he's good enough to be a starter for where we want to be, but I can compliment some aspects of his game. I just don't know if, when playing as the 8, the problem is ten Hag's instructions or McTominay's general sense of where to position himself.
 
Yagami said:
Good signing. Promising at Feyenoord, absolutely brilliant at Verona, his initial manager at Fiorentina changed his game and his performances dropped there, but I have faith he can get back to his Verona levels. If he can, he will easily be our best midfielder.
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mazhar13 said:
I appreciate the tag. I've liked Sofyan since the first time I saw him play for Hellas Verona, and I'm glad that we were able to bring him in given how much better he's gotten over the years.
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To the people that have seen him play before, what do you think has gone wrong?

Is it a problem with the role he's expected to play or is he just not cut out for the Premier League?
 
Want to see him start in midfield with Mainoo, instead of McTominay.

Just for reference. Because he's not going to be worse there than McTominay has been in every single game he's played this season as a deeper lying midfielder.
 
I'll reserve judgement on him until we get a new manager with less chaotic, more coherent tactics than whatever the hell it is we're seeing at the moment.
 
hobbers said:
Want to see him start in midfield with Mainoo, instead of McTominay.

Just for reference. Because he's not going to be worse there than McTominay has been in every single game he's played this season as a deeper lying midfielder.
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How many games has McT played in a deep lying midfield role this season?

The second half against Luton after Eriksen went off comes to mind, but other than that?
 
MegadrivePerson said:
To the people that have seen him play before, what do you think has gone wrong?

Is it a problem with the role he's expected to play or is he just not cut out for the Premier League?
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Part of it's him still adjusting to the Premier League's pace (most Serie A sides don't press and man-mark as intensely as the average PL side does, and they don't build up as quickly, either) and the other part's due to the United players not doing a good job of making themselves available for him. Once he gets adjusted to the league, he'll be much better. Even then, he's done some things that I've seen from him in Fiorentina, such as his more intense pressing and aggressive attempts at winning the ball (hence the extra free kick concessions with him) as well as more precise passing to keep the attacks going. We won't see his ability to evade the press until he gets used to the pace and physicality in the Premier League.
 
MegadrivePerson said:
To the people that have seen him play before, what do you think has gone wrong?

Is it a problem with the role he's expected to play or is he just not cut out for the Premier League?
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I echo what @mazhar13 says but I'll add a bit more on top of that.

First, I'm not against the probability that he may just not be good enough for our level. There have been lots of players I've liked throughout the years that just weren't good enough for that step up. What keeps me from coming to that conclusion yet is due to multiple things.

As mazhar says, he is still adjusting to the league, but it's not only that. He came into a new league (which happens to be the most physically demanding of them all) with no preseason, and with an injury. Then, when he got fit, his first couple of games were at LB due to injuries so he was thrown into the frying pan in an uncomfortable position for him.

When he finally got to play in central midfield, he was basically alone which didn't help. Either his partners were too focused on getting forwards or they were a complete liability out of possession (Eriksen). Someone new to the league who's still building his match fitness up is never going to succeed in that set-up. Just like Mainoo and Casemiro don't. His best football came besides a partner who was the main passer in midfield (Veloso). Expecting him to be that player is problematic because his passing was never his strong point. It was his ball carrying and ability to keep said ball under pressure.

As I said before, he could just not be up to the task here, but until I've seen him get a run with an actual midfield partner in a functioning midfield, never mind team as a whole, I'll still have some faith in him because, at his best, even in a weaker league, he impressed me enough to warrant giving him some time. Problem is, we may never see that because, one, our midfield options aren't great so there may always be an unbalance, and two, he may never get the consistent game time needed to adjust. Though, as mazhar said again, it's not been all bad. He has shown some positives already.
 
Marwood said:
Without doing much when he came on it reminded you that matching up the opposition physically can really help. He could at least compete in that sense with Newcastle. Basic stuff really.
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You didn't consider the difference in freshness vs fatigue. Amrabat was subbed on for about only over 10 minutes before final whistle. Newcastle didn't have bench players for rotation for PSG and this game, so their physical condition was dismising at this point of the game. Him starting would be a different ball game for him when they were fresher and running at us in all directions.

He had 72.7% passing completion stats for that few minutes on the pitch. In comparison, Mainop had 92.1% even though we're under siege under Newcastle attack most of his time on the pitch. A fresh Amrabat against tired legs was this careless with the ball when we were able to push out a bit, would you trust him in possession against fresher Newcastle players? The third goal Newcastle scored in League Cup didn't ring any bell?
 
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ti vu said:
You didn't consider the difference in freshness vs fatigue. Amrabat was subbed on for about only over 10 minutes before final whistle. Newcastle didn't have bench players for rotation for PSG and this game, so their physical condition was dismising at this point of the game. Him starting would be a different ball game for him when they were fresher and running at us in all directions.

He had 72.7% passing completion stats for that few minutes on the pitch. In comparison, Mainop had 92.1% even though we're under siege under Newcastle attack most of his time on the pitch. A fresh Amrabat against tired legs was this careless with the ball when we were able to push out a bit, would you trust him in possession against fresher Newcastle players? The third goal Newcastle scored in League Cup didn't ring any bell?
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You're overthinking it. Newcastle are a big strong team. We should have tried to match them up in that regard and clearly Amrabat is one of our stronger players.

If you're going on possession stats to decide who starts he should be in there over McTominay yes?
 
Marwood said:
You're overthinking it. Newcastle are a big strong team. We should have tried to match them up in that regard and clearly Amrabat is one of our stronger players.

If you're going on possession stats to decide who starts he should be in there over McTominay yes?
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You're naively oversimplifying difficult concept into kid play. Chelsea got better tools to match them physically as well as technically but they also got blown off. Chelsea didn't got European football to worried about. We just came back from an away trip to Turkey, and the traveling arrangement to Newcastle was far from ideal, leaving us with less time for recovery.

McTominay had 91.7% passing completion against Newcastle. Showing for pass is a different issue with McTominay. Issue with Amrabat is he is a on ball player as much as he's an off ball player. He wants to get on ball, and under pressure he made mistake on ball. Stronger than someone else in our squad means jack all when Joeliton is a physical beast that mostly goes unmatched against most opposition. And Newcastle as a whole is a harder working team. One extra hard working player can't carry the same slackers. Amrabat style may look more physical equipped, but he's not that strong as seen in previous PL games.

Unless the Martial, Rashford significantly played better, there was no one quick change of players could have helped that team. Prevented a couple shots, but highly unlikely to change the flow of the game nor result for the better.
 
Somebody said to me the other day we're hoping to buy his replacement in January and I just laughed. Not sure where they got that info from, but thank god our plan to sign him permanently was put on ice and we could only do a loan. Otherwise we'd be looking at another complete waste of money. Even the loan fee looks ridiculous now though.
 
The guy was playing for Fiorentina at the peak of his career. Modern Fiorentina not the 90’s and early 00’s one.

There’s a player in there if you’re an upper-mid table Serie A club but not United in the Prem. Players like him are quite common in our league.

Decent on the ball, good stamina, doesn’t provide much else. He’s just kinda average.
 
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