Tom Cleverley | 2011/12 Performances

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apotheosis said:
Wilshere is an exceptional talent and has been widely touted as such for the last few years. Cleverley has never been associated with that type of talent.
Wilshire is possibly the most technically gifted player to break into the England team since Scholes, and Wenger has done an excellent job so far with his development.

Don't get me wrong i am a huge Cleverley fan, and have championed his cause since my joining the Caf. I was hugely disappointed that SAF left him out of the 25 last season in favour of Gibson, as i felt he had more to offer than Gibson. So again i am not disagreeing with you about TC's potential but you do seem to be placing a lot of faith in only a few pre season performances.

Arsenal by the way are not enjoying a period of success, while we currently are. So the expectations and pressure of being a main midfield man for United, especially so close after losing Scholes puts a lot of added scrutiny on whoever takes on that mantle. This is why i believe SAF is considering Sneijder, a proven, experienced player of undoubted quality has to be considered the best bet for replacing someone of Scholes' class and influence.

Cleverley imo, should be used carefully while he finds his feet, and should not be thrown into the fold too early. Look at the detrimental effect that such a scenario had on Evans last season after showing comparable early promise.
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independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/welbeck-the-only-young-player-to-make-grade-2333154.html
Interestingly, capello refers to wilshere as a one-off who 'exploded in 6 months'.
 
Cleverly? I can't see it to be honest. Be good to see him against city today, that will be a big test for him.
 
Am I right in thinking if he played today it would be his debut?
 
What a goal and he played a huge huge part in it

Top stuff
 
Love his short range passing, the weight on his passes is almost perfect. High energy player, always looking to pass and move. SAF will give him games this season, even if we sign Sneijder.
 
The White Pele said:
The trouble I have with Cleverley at the moment is I think he is more of an all-rounder rather than having the specialist skills to excel in one position. He is the sort of player who would be great in a 5 a side but when changing to 11 you don't know quite where to play him. I think somebody like Gareth Barry is a player who had a similar problem before he reached maturity as a centre midfielder.

He is by no means a natural wide man. He has good but not exceptional pace and isn't the best at beating his man. He does have good delivery though when he gets in the right positions.

I don't necessarily subscribe to the idea that he will be a central midfield player for us either. I think in a 2 he would be too loose, for want of a better word. I think he would give the ball away a fair bit and would be restricted from showing his best stuff which tends to be in the final third. As the most attacking of a 3 I think he would maybe lack a bit of guile and craft.

For me, his best qualities are his intelligence, work rate, attitude and also his finishing when he gets into a good position, so I think at this time his best position would be playing from wide and drifting inside to provide a threat. I think he could be a good impact player for us from here and a matchwinner in the mould of somebody like Ljungberg or, to use one of our players, Park.

Will be interesting to see how he features for us this season.
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If that is what you think then you clearly have only seen him play on the wing, and not in the middle. He is an AM pure and simple, although due to his energy and determination to impose himself mean he is also capable of playing a bit deeper as a CM.

His tidy passing and confident decision making enable him to contribute all over the midfield, but in my view he is most dangerous operating in more advanced areas as we have seen today. I have always been impressed by his enthusiasm and desire to make things happen and he has that touch of dynamism about his play that lifts the team.

I think he could quickly become a big player for us this season.
 
Forget WHO he is and analyse this....

Was that the best Manchester United debut since Ronaldo?????
 
I really like him. He is the perfect definition of the pass and move player. Doesn't do anything too fancy and keeps the tempo up. Think he gave the ball away once in the whole half and that was right at the final whistle.
 
Great to see him get a chance with the first team.
Knew he was a star in the making when I saw him play for Watford
 
I'm getting carried away but I'm over the fecking moon...what a performance from Tom
 
I'm feeling a bit smug at the moment as I have constantly argued that Cleverley could cut it in midfield and often been told otherwise on these very boards. So you know what? I'm gonna leave it at that and let Cleverley's performance in a midfield two against another midfield three speak for itself!
 
Younger, faster and more hungrier then Carrick.

He was a bit naive in the last 3-4 minutes of the game but if the lad was trying to stake a claim then he did a brilliant job. I think it helped that Citeh were shell shocked and bitched up after we equalized, but Cleverley certainly looked good today.
 
Cleverley should be starting over Carrick. We went from lukewarm in midfield to red hot.
 
Excellent from Tom, just goes to show what a feckwit Stuart Pearce is by not trying him out in the centre of midfield for the England u21's instead of Henderson.
 
Absolutely fabulous I thought. His quickness of thought and sheer energy changed the whole dynamic of the game. And against one of the most powerful midfield's in the pl.

Tremendously pleased with him. Almost a little giddy in fact.
 
I've got to admit that I was dubious about whether he and Anderson would really work in a two man midfield...early signs from pre-season and today are that they'll be superb together. They made City's three-man midfield look second rate at times.
 
#07 said:
I'm feeling a bit smug at the moment as I have constantly argued that Cleverley could cut it in midfield and often been told otherwise on these very boards. So you know what? I'm gonna leave it at that and let Cleverley's performance in a midfield two against another midfield three speak for itself!
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Don't leave it at that, rub their noses in it, i would! :smirk:

What i said to you the other day was evident today, although he did start deeper today, the fact he had Jones behind him instead of Carrick enabled him to move forward more and show why i have been suggesting he has the excellent playmaking skills required to contribute in advanced areas as the equalising goal proved today.

I am more than happy he is now proving what i have been suggesting for over 12 months he offers significantly more than either Gibson, Anderson of Fletcher and should no longer be behind any of them in the competition for places.
 
He had a level of skill, energy and most importantly...penetration that our midfield lacked so often last season. That was absolutely sub-fecking-lime.

He should start next week.
 
Very classy player. Looking forward to watching him this season.
 
I am satisfied. We should start Anderson and Cleverley more.
 
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