He was. The next Fergie prodigy enters centre stage as one departs. If he keeps this up, he'll save the Glazers a bloody fortune.
Tom Cleverley | 2011/12 Performances
- Thread starter #07
- Start date
- Status
He was. The next Fergie prodigy enters centre stage as one departs. If he keeps this up, he'll save the Glazers a bloody fortune.
I must add that Toure in Ramadan mood. Not to take anything away from Cleverly, but lets be even keel with him. He has talent and in due time it will come out.
Can't argue with the last bit, but he does have his critics. He was very poor in the Euro u21s (albeit playing out of position) and that led some people, even on here, to question whether he has what it takes.
Personally, I'm reserving judgement. Don't get me wrong, he has something really special about him, but so does Gibson. From what we've seen of him so far he's clearly going to have a cracking career in the Premier League, but to play for United he needs to be putting in performances like today's consistently.
Can't wait to see his progress.
If he develop as the rate it goes, you and me cannot be too surprised if he wear the no.7 nxt season when Owen calls it a day..
Looks good so far. Must say he's come on and not the player I was expecting him to be a few years ago. Seems to be going in the RIGHT direction. I thought he was more going in the Fletcher type direction - physcial direct approach.
He seems to be following better models and doing something different - i.e. trying to make the Xavi/Inesta model work for the English game. This is a tough ask & he'll need great encouragement & mental strength to make that work.
His performances are starting to make Stuart Pearce look ridiculous and show that he had no idea what he was doing in the Euro U21s. I keep thinking how did England ever let Peter Taylor leave?
He seems to be following better models and doing something different - i.e. trying to make the Xavi/Inesta model work for the English game. This is a tough ask & he'll need great encouragement & mental strength to make that work.
His performances are starting to make Stuart Pearce look ridiculous and show that he had no idea what he was doing in the Euro U21s. I keep thinking how did England ever let Peter Taylor leave?
Our central midfield in the second half connected very well. Cleverley looked composed and collected.
I'm not saying he's anywhere near as good, before anyone flames me, but he reminds me of Iniesta.
He will have his down days though.
If he continues and holds down a regular spot, I can see the more physical sides trying to dish out some to him, since he's not really the biggest. I just hope he keeps going in the right direction.
If he continues and holds down a regular spot, I can see the more physical sides trying to dish out some to him, since he's not really the biggest. I just hope he keeps going in the right direction.
Looks like the press pack are starting to take note:
Game changing performance from the lad today, absolutely superb both with and without the ball. He looks slight and frail but he knows how to look after himself with some clever tackling and good tactical awareness(something Martinez was raving about and said he'd not seen before in a player of his ilk and relative inexperience). As for his contribution on the ball...the kid must have eyes in the back of his head. It was refreshing to see someone not afraid to take the ball in tight situations and not afraid to play an incisive pass if he sees it. Top performance, one that should give SAF a decision to make next week...
Big mentions to Anderson and Phil Jones aswell, they both impressed me hugely aswell. Anderson bossed things in the midfield for the majority of that game, even more so when Cleverley came on and added some extra energy and intent to that area. I wasn't sure just how good Jones was/is prior to that 45 minutes but he showed a level of maturity and willingness to start the quick, incisive play from the back that can only be encouraging when looking ahead to this and future seasons.
Big mentions to Anderson and Phil Jones aswell, they both impressed me hugely aswell. Anderson bossed things in the midfield for the majority of that game, even more so when Cleverley came on and added some extra energy and intent to that area. I wasn't sure just how good Jones was/is prior to that 45 minutes but he showed a level of maturity and willingness to start the quick, incisive play from the back that can only be encouraging when looking ahead to this and future seasons.
It is no secret that he has extensively studied how Xavi and Iniesta play the game and has tried to model how he plays on their style.
So it shows to aim that high shows confidence and a willingness to improve, and tbh it is about time we had a young midfielder at Utd who is actually capable of reminding us fans of one of the best players around.
goes to show how far he has come on.
he is waiting to take Carrick's shirt...now that he has taken his spot
1 match and Cleverly is a world beater. Internet these days.
Sure Cleverly has one hell of a potential, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Sure Cleverly has one hell of a potential, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Seriously impressive performance, took me completely by surprise. Dynamic, quick (and correct) decisions, excellent work rate, great movement.
Haven't seen our midfield play like that in years. They actually ran past players!
Haven't seen our midfield play like that in years. They actually ran past players!
Can we start spelling Wellbeck and Cleverlys names right now?
Thomas William "Tom" Cleverley (born 12 August 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder in the Premier League for Manchester United.
Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah "Danny" Welbeck (born 26 November 1990 in Manchester, England) is an English international footballer who plays for Manchester United
Haha, that has to be deliberate?
2 games (you forgot barca)
But no it's the type of player he is. People think it's always reactionary, but some people have watched players more then others. His short passing will suit us as will his work ethic. He has an outstanding chance of knitting our play together and while players will have off days, it creates an element of trust that we can throw him in and not worry so much about his temperament because even the best players in the world can have an off say. The fact he doesn't obsess about the long ball and studies the game is a bonus. Sometimes you have to enjoy it, otherwise you'll always end up putting it off because there's always the next game...and the next..
Haha true. Wasnt he being slated in this very thread after one of the pre-season matches. Im sure its a few pages back (just before the Barca match)...
I think they've earnt that right today! Very happy with both of em
Hopefully Gobson and Yung earn the right throughout the season
He wouldn't have been slated by people who know he has ability and work ethic though. I would guess that's the difference. It's not like it was the people who have been praising him
I see it too, to be fair. He has that low centre of gravity and good 1 touch passing ability, plus looks to shoot. Something Iniesta doesn't do a whole lot of I guess.
After watching what Carrick contributed first half to what Jones and Cleverley produced in the second, do you still think Wesley Sneijder is what we need?
No, I'm not sure. Never have been, though
Carrick was half-fit though, don't forget that. Carrick, Fletcher and Anderson can do the "grunt work" but we only have Cleverley and Giggs for the creative duties.
The improvement in midfield from the first half to the second was amazing. And it was down to Cleverley. He and Anderson could quite easily forge a partnership together based on that performance. They looked a better midfield partnership in that second half than Anderson and Carrick do in my opinion, although we'll have to wait and see before we can say for sure.
Just thought I'd say I really, really, really like Tom Cleverley.
As a player, of course.
As a player, of course.
Cleverley almost seems too driven not to make it. It reminds me of when Fletcher decided from about 07/08 onwards that he was going to cement a spot in the first team, only Cleverley looks to have a lot more about him as a player, potentially.
Why didn't Wigan use more as a CM ?
They needed him in wide areas.
No, I'm not sure. Never have been, though
Carrick was half-fit though, don't forget that. Carrick, Fletcher and Anderson can do the "grunt work" but we only have Cleverley and Giggs for the creative duties.
Carrick was half fit i admit, but tbh the way he plays it made little difference. Against De Jong and Toure he was never going to try and impose himself on those 2. Cleverley and Anderson proved though that with a certain sense of discilpine, their hard work and determination, together with their mobility and willingness to carry the ball forwards with intent, can more than cover what either Carrick or Fletcher contribute most regularly.
I was most impressed with the freedom and confidence of both Anderson and TC in the second half. The variety of attributes they bring to the midfield seem to enable them to contribute both offensively and defensively with great effect. It was very refreshing to see a Utd midfield playing with freedom, fluidity and imagination, and hopefully that was just a glimpse of things to come.
it remains to be seen whether anderson and cleverley will be able to repeat today's feat away in january vs teams like stoke.
Very true, however it also remains to be seen whether the alternatives can perform any better at grounds away from OT next season than they did in the last.
At least Cleverley and Anderson have the capacity to improve dramatically as a partnership, can the same really be said of Carrick and Giggs?
You re right about giggs but carrick is very strong physically.
Yeah he's a regular toughest man in the world....seriously he's not that tough....
We beat Stoke home and away last season so why would we fail to do so again? Especially as Stoke's midfielders aren't the same quality as Toure, De Jong and Barry (or come into this game having beaten Inter 3-0 last week without Tevez?)
I really don't understand the pessimism really. Ando's been steadily improving since the Everton game in the run and that has been reflected in his performances since then, including preseason.
As for Cleverley I very much doubt having played in the relegation dogfight last season against the kind of teams you're referring to that he's going to be intimidated by returning to those stadiums.
I find it bizarre that we're never willing to give our own lads credit but always willing to hype up FM legends that play in vastly inferior leagues such as Ganso, who may well turn out to be a great but who plays in a division where closing down is something shops do and who looked woeful in the Copa America.
Tom Cleverley is a quality player as he has proven again today. He'll be more than able to handle himself in the Premier League this season if given a chance and based upon Sir Alex's post match interview with MUTV I think he'll be given that opportunity too.
He's not naturally an amazing talent, but he's a fecking winner. He's got a real football brain on him too. He just keeps getting better, and he doesn't half get across the park.
You mentioned ganso (i never did because i never saw him playing - for me he s just another over hped south american).... Well i think that even someone like him can struggle vs physically intimidating teams. The problem is basically some english refs that do not give enough protection to technical players like cleverley and anderson.
I didn't direct my comments about Ganso at you in particular but if you go to the transfer section of this forum you'll see plenty of people writing posts which make it seem they're almost salivating at the prospect of buying him or other 'names' like Douglas Costa or whatever as if they'd be a massive improvement on what we've got.
I used his name simply to illustrate my point which is that many of our fans think the cow in someone else's field is better than the cow in their own and that, I think, is something you are guilty of. There's no telling that no matter who we bought that they'd be able to do it on a cold night in the Britannia stadium.
The difference is Tom Cleverley has done it in the Premier League for Wigan a team with much worse players than those at United (no offence Wigan fans) and he has also done it in the Championship where he won Watford's player of the year award. If you think the Premier League can be physical at times let me tell you it ain't got nothing on the Championship and yet Cleverley didn't need referee's protecting him to show his quality:
Cleverley isn't going to be bullied and he has the drive and nous to continue to improve. I've no doubts about what he's capable of and he will justify that faith this season. Mark my words.
- Status