He's tall and has similar hair colour.
43
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 2
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 0
He's tall and has similar hair colour.
Not the best technically. Fair hair = McTominay apparently... 
A lot to like from his performances over the two games. Although he doesn't look particularly pacy, he covers ground so effortlessly. He's so quick to get on to players and has the discipline to not be too rash. (Will need to get a "headless chicken" counter going for those amongst us who don't value work rate)
Needs to sharpen up his first touch, and short passing. I do worry about him progressing the ball when he is the deeper of our two midfielders. Would need our ball playing defenders to help him out here. (Not unlike Ugarte)
A lot to like from his performances over the two games. Although he doesn't look particularly pacy, he covers ground so effortlessly. He's so quick to get on to players and has the discipline to not be too rash. (Will need to get a "headless chicken" counter going for those amongst us who don't value work rate)
Needs to sharpen up his first touch, and short passing. I do worry about him progressing the ball when he is the deeper of our two midfielders. Would need our ball playing defenders to help him out here. (Not unlike Ugarte)
A good player to fill any holes in the midfield.
Zirkzee and Collyer should be able to cover everything McTom does in the team.
Zirkzee and Collyer should be able to cover everything McTom does in the team.
Love the aggression.
Seems a similar player to Brandon Williams, not convinced of his on the ball ability just yet.
Pretty much fulfilling the same role as him. Breaking up play, a bit of physicality and not offering much in terms of passing and ball play. Still early in his appearances so hopefully he shows more of his ball playing side. However, not that different to Mctominay when he first got into the team.
Also a bit hilarious posters getting in a fuff about the comparison. They both play in the same position, both as it stands have not shown much ability on the ball and both (so far in Collyer's part) seem to be more about breaking up play etc. Out of all our midfielders his perfomances so far has looked more close to a Mctominay style than our other midfielders.
In all seriousness, I'd liken him to Amrabat, and I'd rather give this lad a chance than going back there.
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… weak take. He’s not Busquets but he can turn in tight spaces and release the ball. He finds really nice solutions to tough situations. Physically gifted enough to do it too while covering ground. I’ve watched his games in the U21s and he is nothing like Brandon.
Wasn’t impressed. Poor touches and lacked composure.
Don't think he's being entirely serious.
Looks combative and quite an impressive ball winner. Only 6 passes in 45 minutes, though ten Hag doesn’t massively value ball circulation from his midfielders so I doubt that will be a big problem.
Bit better in the things I was concerned about in this game. Needs to bring it all together and will be a solid player for us.
-_-
Comfortable taking the ball on the half turn from defenders so that's an improvement on most English midfielders.
Not particularly expansive at this point but that's understandable. The discipline to keep it simple a major plus given 3 halves of football at this level.
Not particularly expansive at this point but that's understandable. The discipline to keep it simple a major plus given 3 halves of football at this level.
Looked good on the tiktok highlights
If you were designing a DM from scratch that has the attributes to fit well with Mainoo, Collyer would be it IMO. The only question is whether Collyer can get to the level needed. I really, really hope he can. It’s difficult to argue against the need to bring in a ready made partner for Mainoo though.
A player who mostly runs around covering distance and stands out more for physicality (height, strength and speed) than technical on the ball skills, not a particularly good passer
Again he was more effective in the match against Arsenal than the other 8 or 9 matches I've seen him in preseason and u21s so if he can continue like that and be a better ball winner than McTominay I'll take it, but they are similar types of player. Hopefully he's just better at it
I initially got the similar impression from a few minutes of YouTube video of preseason games. But found a few more videos, his first touch is pretty good. It looks to me that he is adapting to this level which is faster, more physical with less time for decision making. I think he is adapting really well and is a quick learner.
Let’s see how he does against Real Betis.
Collyer doesn’t just ‘run around’ covering ground. He closes down spaces to win the ball back and he does it well because he reads the game well. Mctominay is awful at this and seem to become less determined in his off the ball work with every passing year. He’s also a much better passer than Mctominay already, especially the quick fire passes that help to retain possession, which is the main role of a DM these days. As for his ‘technical on the ball skills’ there’s space to improve when he is facing his own goal, ie he could be a bit more unpredictable in beating the press but that can come later. He’s not going to beat people 1 v 1 (and you shouldn’t expect him to have mad dribbling skills) but his technique is excellent.
Honestly, the art of defensive midfield in the modern game is lost on most people.
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I don't really know what to make of him. He does some good things on the ball and he knows where to be, which is pretty good for a midfielder coming through. But I said the same of James Garner and he had and still has the added benefit of having great distribution.
Maybe I'm still a little sore at us losing Garner on the cheap, but I'd have backed him then a lot more than Collyer now. Still though, it looks clear that the latter will get chances, so here's to hoping he takes them well.
And if not, there are some pretty promising players like McAllister and Fitzgerald coming through, so hopefully one of the lot comes through in a big enough way.
Edit: The Fletcher twins too! With elite PL standard midfielders going for over £100m these days, if even one of the lot of them can be a good squad player for us, that's huge, really. It looks like something we have actually paid some mind to. Good technical midfielders might not all have to be Spanish - we'll see.
Maybe I'm still a little sore at us losing Garner on the cheap, but I'd have backed him then a lot more than Collyer now. Still though, it looks clear that the latter will get chances, so here's to hoping he takes them well.
And if not, there are some pretty promising players like McAllister and Fitzgerald coming through, so hopefully one of the lot comes through in a big enough way.
Edit: The Fletcher twins too! With elite PL standard midfielders going for over £100m these days, if even one of the lot of them can be a good squad player for us, that's huge, really. It looks like something we have actually paid some mind to. Good technical midfielders might not all have to be Spanish - we'll see.
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Feels way too early to judge the player since I don't watch the academy, but what has stood out to me:
-Fast for a CM/DM, might be more important under Ten Hag than a typical system in terms of dealing with counter attacks
-Seems to space out defensively less than say a McTominay
-Hasn't found a way to get open much to receive passes
-Bit awkward at times with his first touch when it's bouncing/bobbling, but uses his body well to not outright lose duels
-Fast for a CM/DM, might be more important under Ten Hag than a typical system in terms of dealing with counter attacks
-Seems to space out defensively less than say a McTominay
-Hasn't found a way to get open much to receive passes
-Bit awkward at times with his first touch when it's bouncing/bobbling, but uses his body well to not outright lose duels
Collyer wasnt good at it either up until the Arsenal match where he did well and raised his game against the best opponents hes faced. If he can do it for more than one game remains to be seen. He didnt do it in the rest of his matches
McTominay averages 2 tackles a game, Collyer must have made at least 3 or 4 and a few interceptions but in the previous games he didnt win the ball he gave away lots of fouls with poor tackling timing . This was the main difference and why he was actually one of our better players against Arsenal but wasnt up to much before it.
His technique is average. His passing is average.
He covers ground, is faster across the pitch than McTominay but like McTominay he's taller and better filled out than most midfielders his age. I understand you dont want it to be true for some reason but that doesnt make it so.
He could be a crucial squad member for next season. his position awareness/off ball movement is far better than McT. His ability to quickly recyle the ball after received the ball from CB or GK and keep the tempo running is so important to breakdown the pressing of the opposition. Massive help for buildup from the back play.
Seems like as per usual, you've made your mind up on a player and won't change even if there's a lot of evidence other wise.
One of the Fletcher twins (DM) still needs to play for the u18s. No where near ready.
I like Collyer's ability to break up play from what I saw against Arsenal, and he did show quick decision making on the ball to get United out of trouble. Problem is, he hasn't shown he gets on the ball enough.
But I agree with the Garner take. Garner had more tools than Collyer, and we got rid of him. I'm not saying we shouldn't give Collyer a chance, I'm actually saying the opposite. I'm just lamenting over selling Garner when he was highly rated next to Greenwood, Gomes, and Laird.
Garner was a better player at 20 and was already playing in the championship at that age. It’s a complete shame we sold him and got in players like Amrabat instead. Should’ve have even sold McT before Garner.
McTominay looks athletic and is pretty strong in the air, but other than that, is he impressive physically? He's quite slow, he completely lacks any intensity in his defending and mostly jogs around not closing anyone down before it is too late. He's not a ball winner and is basically pointless, or even detrimental to the team playing as a DM. He's shown some worth playing ahead of Bruno, but that comes at the cost of creativity and link-up play in attack.
I haven't seen this lad play, but McTominay doesn't play like a midfielder...
This is probably true, but is Garner good enough still? Squad player, perhaps
But Garner wanted to leave, had he stayed that year I think he would've been playing a lot more than even he expected for us. EtH wanted to focus on building a tight group his 1st year and didn't really have time to focus on the players in the fringes. What's sucks is we don't really have a player like Garner who can pass and play as a 6 although his biggest weakness was physicality and he still hasn't fixed it either. I think by now we know EtH wants academy players who are physically ready, if he has doubts on that you're not going to play. Amad proved it, Mainoo proved it, and his decision to integrate Collyer this year says the same he will only allow academy players into the 1st team if they are physically developed no matter the age.
Garner looked good in the youth teams but didn't impress in any of his limited first team appearances or on tour. He looked scared and didn't look like he had the mentality to thrive here. You need a certain confidence, like Mainoo or Garnacho have, to be a part of the United team. Unfortunately, it didn't look like he had it.
I actually have enjoyed Collyer's two appearances so far. He looks like a tenacious lad who not afraid to get struck in. Also, I haven't found him as useless on the ball as has been suggested in this thread. He is not an expansive passer but he has shown he can keep it under pressure and lay it off for others to move it forward. Whether that is good enough, I don't know. But for me he has shown enough to be a part of the first team next season.
I actually have enjoyed Collyer's two appearances so far. He looks like a tenacious lad who not afraid to get struck in. Also, I haven't found him as useless on the ball as has been suggested in this thread. He is not an expansive passer but he has shown he can keep it under pressure and lay it off for others to move it forward. Whether that is good enough, I don't know. But for me he has shown enough to be a part of the first team next season.
Dont agree with that at all.
As a squad player, absolutely. A proper and better midfielder than McT, fitter than Eriksen whilst also decent at set pieces. He’s not as strong defensively as Amrabat, but I believe Garner would have contributed way more than Amrabat last season.
Yup you’re right, because we weren’t playing him enough despite him showing his qualities in the academy and whilst on loan at Nottingham Forest. He’s not a physical specimen, but he did well enough in the championship over two seasons and a season of PL football. Hindsight is always 20/20 but I was really disappointed when Garner left. I would also be quite disappointed if Mejbri leaves and McT is still here.
I dont think you need to have strength and also be fast to be described as a physical midfielder.
Most strong midfielders such as Fellaini or Matic arent fast, they're just strong. McTominay came through and was more physically develeoped for strength when he came through as a youngster than the other players his age tend to be. I would argue that he did move about a bit quicker when he first emerged as well though I dont dispute that right now he doesnt look to have much speed. Then theres also stamina to keep going over the whole match which McTominay has so that his distance running stats are good and thats another physical part of playing. Fred would be the other side where he was fast and had the stamina, but lacked the strength and height.
Collyer looks to have maybe slightly less strength than McTominay, but has the height and is quick for a midfielder.
As for McTominay he did look like he was going to play as a decent midfielder when he came through even if he wasnt going to make it at United's level. Its only in recent seasons that he's been getting forward so much that hes ahead of the ball instead of sitting in midfield and providing a passing option. A couple of seasons ago he was used as our deepest midfielder when he played (22/23) because Casemiro was bombing forward and getting some goals. He was average overall but his ball winning stats went up (2.5 tackles per 90, 1.1 interceptions per 90) and he still lacked with his contribution with the ball and I personally felt like it was a bit of a misuse of him then because until that point still his best football skill was his shooting, just before last season it tended to be shots from around the edge of the area where he would sometimes place the ball and show a bit better technique than in the rest of his game.
Anyway the point is McTominay's game changed last season and Collyer is reminiscent of how he was when he was first coming through, not how he was last season
To me he looked like he was afraid to express himself in those appearances. They were tame and rather uneventful. I was hopeful that he would be one who would make it from the youth teams as a defensive midfielder after the much hyped Tunnicliffe, Ben something etc. before him failed to make their mark.
Ah yes, me who has seen the guy play over 10 times is lacking evidence because he had 1 game where he had shown improvement
He played it safe. Just like Collyer do now and Mainoo did before him. Never looked scared too me. And in terms of mentality he looks very good in the PL. Looked very good at times in a system that really dont suit him that much.
Playing with United could be it's own challenge. He did well in the championship and failed to leave any mark with his few appearances. Mainoo doesn't play safe, he is not an expansive passer, but he is never afraid to express himself and runs freely with it. He also can shield it and get out tough situations like a champ.
What appearances on tour? He played a total of 40 minutes over three games in that preseason, with half of them in the Rayo match which was made up of the B team and players just back from holiday.
As others have mentioned, it's clear he wanted to leave and I think Ten Hag knew that shortly after arriving. Fair play to Garner moving on for first team football, but we let him go for something like £9m didn't we? What do you think Everton would be asking for now, given that they just sold a midfielder who was behind him for £50m?
Anyway, it does seem Collyer is gonna get chances this season, so let's hope he takes them.
Yes, definitely 75m minimum, if not 100m.
Fair enough, mate. McTominay is a physical midfielder, but I still maintain he's not the best at actually using his physical prowess. Matic and Fellaini were tough as nails. Where defenders went into an aerial duel, Fellaini chested the ball. Matic was sublime at standing tackles. Neither were fast, but Fellaini worked his socks off. McTominay may have good stats when it comes to running, but the eye test says he often jogs about (still covering the distance), and doesn't anticipate the dangers until it's too late.
I always found Fred the better midfielder than McTominay, but both were used incorrectly. Fred was an 8, even an attacking 8, and pretty much every time he was played in that position he did quite well. As a DM, he lacked strength, which caused him to lose so many physical duels. McTominay, however, doesn't get into those duels because he isn't fast enough to recover, and he lacks awareness and anticipation in that role. Closer to the opposition box, he appears to have much better instincts. Obviously, he's also an asset when defending set-pieces.