Tom Cleverley | 2012-14 Performances

[SirFergie]

That's exactly how I feel about Cleverley right now. He seems content with playing those types of passes but he needs to be more adventurous. He has it within him but he looks so far from it. Usually he would be the player who would up our tempo and provide some urgency with his passes and runs but he's not doing that anymore. There was one instance against Newcastle where Evans was on the ball and Cleverley slowly jogged towards him pointing at his feet. But what caught me out was that Cleverley did in the most sheepish way possible. It was infuriating. Show for the ball Tom!

I agree and I noticed that too. It's not just showing for the ball with Cleverley though. He doesn't know what to do with it when he receives it. He played a few nice passes out wide but it too few and far between.

 

[Stack]

Because of comments on here I just watched the Newcastle game again and this whole Cleverley not showing for the ball is utter boolocks. Things around here are growing their own legs and walking. Go have another good look and you will see he spent his entire time showing for the ball. There are a couple of times when he moves closer to his marker and drags him inside to create a passing channel to another team mate. At one point he moves closer to his marker and points to the channel the ball needs to go to. Upon watching it again he is probably the one player who was showing for the ball the most.

 

[#07]

The big issue with Cleverley right now is that he's hiding.

When he first played for United he was effectively playing on adrenaline, he had no fear and was determined to make a mark and it showed.

Compare his early 2011/12 to the garbage he's served up this season and there's no comparison. Yes, it was only a handful of games but the Cleverley of that season looked like twice the player Cleverley of today is. He was happy to turn on the ball and take responsibility for it, he always had a look over the shoulder before receiving possession and knew exactly what to do with it before it arrived at his feet, and the difference at Everton when he was rushed back after that day against City was obvious. We were much better that day before he re-injured his ankle hitting that long pass and we looked like utter dross after that until Scholesy bailed us out coming out of retirement:



This season by comparison Cleverley has looked frightened. I can barely remember him even running with the ball at his feet this season before the Newcastle match, and looked anything but sure of himself doing so either. The only picture he seems to have in his mind when he gets the ball these days is the fear of the headlines if he messes up: He gets it and simply gives it right back to the person who passed it to him. Besides a couple of cute passes he's had virtually no impact on our game (and I'm including the long passes against Newcastle and the through ball to RVP at Fulham in that).

Honestly speaking I find it sad. Someone with his ability should be far more assertive and given what the coaches said about him, about his grit and determination, I thought he'd have it in his head to succeed. But right now he just looks shell shocked and it doesn't look like he has it in him to get his head together and start playing properly.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

As others have said he's great at a short, quick pass-and-move game. I think he's the perfect player for working the ball through the opposition midfield with 1-2s and quick interplay, but that aspect of the game is incredibly reliant on other teammates being in good positions to receive the ball, which isn't happening at the moment.

The thing that works against Cleverley in a midfield 2 is that he's not particularly creative or a particularly great long passer, nor is he a good dribbler, basically he lacks that something extra that'd allow him to make things happen with a piece of individual brilliance when we're not playing well as a team. So when there's no-one showing for the ball in a good position when he receives it he has no option but to play it backwards/sideways or lose it, which probably has shook his confidence a bit.

 

[Stack]

As others have said he's great at a short, quick pass-and-move game. I think he's the perfect player for working the ball through the opposition midfield with 1-2s and quick interplay, but that aspect of the game is incredibly reliant on other teammates being in good positions to receive the ball, which isn't happening at the moment.

The thing that works against Cleverley in a midfield 2 is that he's not particularly creative or a particularly great long passer, nor is he a good dribbler, basically he lacks that something extra that'd allow him to make things happen with a piece of individual brilliance when we're not playing well as a team. So when there's no-one showing for the ball in a good position when he receives it he has no option but to play it backwards/sideways or lose it, which probably has shook his confidence a bit.

Watch again from the 27th minute to the 31st minute for a couple of examples of quality long passes and a couple of dribbles with pace changes that catch Newcastle out. Honestly having watched the game again and watching just Cleverely he to me looked one of our better players against Newcastle. He was certainly the busiest off the ball both when we were in possession and out of possession.

 

[Stack]

 

[#07]

Watch again from the 27th minute to the 31st minute for a couple of examples of quality long passes and a couple of dribbles with pace changes that catch Newcastle out. Honestly having watched the game again and watching just Cleverely he to me looked one of our better players against Newcastle. He was certainly the busiest off the ball both when we were in possession and out of possession.

In the first half against Newcastle Cleverley played the way he should always play as a minimum standard.

I agree he was good, perhaps for the first time this season solidly good. However, he faded a lot in the second half, the air got sucked out of him completely after Newcastle scored and he is still not playing with anywhere near the assertiveness that he did when he first burst onto the scene.

He has the talent, he shows it in flashes, but as Paul Scholes said last week its now time for him to step up.

I know its different but do you remember how Rooney carried United at a younger age over the winter of 2005 and into 2006 before he had his foot break at Chelsea? That was an example of a young player stepping into the breach and doing the necessary's. It was what the class of 1992 did 10 years before. Its what Cleverley needs to do now. He's gotta step up and not only reproduce what he showed in the first half against Newcastle but what he showed in the Shield 2 years ago and in the 8-2.

Anything less than his best is not enough from Clev. Not when United need him to produce.

 

[SirFergie]

Because of comments on here I just watched the Newcastle game again and this whole Cleverley not showing for the ball is utter boolocks. Things around here are growing their own legs and walking. Go have another good look and you will see he spent his entire time showing for the ball. There are a couple of times when he moves closer to his marker and drags him inside to create a passing channel to another team mate. At one point he moves closer to his marker and points to the channel the ball needs to go to. Upon watching it again he is probably the one player who was showing for the ball the most.

He is showing for the ball but hardly using it when he does receive it. It's either back or sideways. As many have said, he's capable if so much more. He showed it in glimpses against Newcastle but like I said, it was too far and few between. His quick switches out wide are what he's capable of and what he needs to do more; Paul Scholes for example first thing he did was look out wide and switch it quick if the chance was there. Now I know Cleverley isn't Scholes and I'm by no means comparing them but since when has our style of play not dictated that switch out wide? We rely on wide players, too much at the moment but while we do we need players who can show for it and then use it right. Cleverley isn't doing that at the moment.

 

[Stack]

He is showing for the ball but hardly using it when he does receive it. It's either back or sideways. As many have said, he's capable if so much more. He showed it in glimpses against Newcastle but like I said, it was too far and few between. His quick switches out wide are what he's capable of and what he needs to do more; Paul Scholes for example first thing he did was look out wide and switch it quick if the chance was there. Now I know Cleverley isn't Scholes and I'm by no means comparing them but since when has our style of play not dictated that switch out wide? We rely on wide players, too much at the moment but while we do we need players who can show for it and then use it right. Cleverley isn't doing that at the moment.

Watch the Newcastle game again, he didnt show it in glimpses, he showed it for most of the time on the pitch, he wasnt anywhere near as bad as people have been saying in that game.
Also with respect to the sideways passes, I suspect many dont understand what goes on with those.
You will see players in all teams do these, they receive a pass thats only a 5 or 10 meter pass and give it straight back to where its come from. or they receive a ball and immediately push it sideways. Why?. The lazy answer is because they dont know what to do with it or they are scared of making a mistake so go for the easy option. These are players who are playing in one of the top leagues in the world, They have been since they were first spotted as kids to the best coaching in their age groups they can get as they go through the years. they have been in youth academies, they train every day under the best coaches around. So why on earth would they be making these sideways passes?
Next time you see these passes watch what happens 1, 2 or 3 passes on. Sometimes to go forward the ball has to go back or sideways. Everytime the ball moves, players are moved, even if its just one step. People think for example that Tiki Taka is all about ball possession and frustrating the opposition. Its not. Its all about keeping the ball moving so that in turn opposition players are moved and that in turn can create passing channels and opportunities.
Where is Cleverely making all these sideways passes?. In his own half and mostly in his own defensive third when he comes to recieve the ball off the defenders. What happens when he comes for the ball, he moves an opposition player creating a space where they once were. the ball goes sideways and then one or 2 passes after that ends up making use of that initial space created.

 

[Stack]

He is showing for the ball but hardly using it when he does receive it. It's either back or sideways. As many have said, he's capable if so much more. He showed it in glimpses against Newcastle but like I said, it was too far and few between. His quick switches out wide are what he's capable of and what he needs to do more; Paul Scholes for example first thing he did was look out wide and switch it quick if the chance was there. Now I know Cleverley isn't Scholes and I'm by no means comparing them but since when has our style of play not dictated that switch out wide? We rely on wide players, too much at the moment but while we do we need players who can show for it and then use it right. Cleverley isn't doing that at the moment.

27th to 31st minute, he switched play quickly twice in the Newcastle game. Long accurate passes that switched play. I mentinoned those times in an above post, timely that you use that quick switch as an example.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Watch again from the 27th minute to the 31st minute for a couple of examples of quality long passes and a couple of dribbles with pace changes that catch Newcastle out. Honestly having watched the game again and watching just Cleverely he to me looked one of our better players against Newcastle. He was certainly the busiest off the ball both when we were in possession and out of possession.

I'm not basing my views on the Newcastle game though, Cleverley's played 1000s of minutes for United and England. You can make almost any player look brilliant at certain aspects of the game if you highlight individual moments instead of looking at their play on the whole.

Obviously it's not great to get too bogged down in stats and they do miss out a lot of key aspects of the game, but in central midfield he plays fewer accurate long balls than anyone bar Jones and dribbles the same amount as Carrick and Fletcher. I'd never deny that on occasion he's played some excellent long balls and beaten players but it's a stretch to argue that beating players and executing great long passes are key aspect of his game.

I'd agree with you that he was one of our better players against Newcastle and I do like him in general, but he's never consistently shown the kind of individual attributes that midfielders need to take the game to the opponent single-handedly at the highest level. That's not an insult or anything, every player has their limitations. He's very good at what he does, short, quick passing and movement, and he'll be an important player for us if we play him in a way that allows him to show that.

 

[Gladiator]

Because of comments on here I just watched the Newcastle game again and this whole Cleverley not showing for the ball is utter boolocks. Things around here are growing their own legs and walking. Go have another good look and you will see he spent his entire time showing for the ball. There are a couple of times when he moves closer to his marker and drags him inside to create a passing channel to another team mate. At one point he moves closer to his marker and points to the channel the ball needs to go to. Upon watching it again he is probably the one player who was showing for the ball the most.

I watched the game again. If pointing towards your feet is showing for the ball then we've lost the plot. How can you show for the ball but the passing lane to you is still blocked?

 

[Gladiator]

Watch the Newcastle game again, he didnt show it in glimpses, he showed it for most of the time on the pitch, he wasnt anywhere near as bad as people have been saying in that game.
Also with respect to the sideways passes, I suspect many dont understand what goes on with those.
You will see players in all teams do these, they receive a pass thats only a 5 or 10 meter pass and give it straight back to where its come from. or they receive a ball and immediately push it sideways. Why?. The lazy answer is because they dont know what to do with it or they are scared of making a mistake so go for the easy option. These are players who are playing in one of the top leagues in the world, They have been since they were first spotted as kids to the best coaching in their age groups they can get as they go through the years. they have been in youth academies, they train every day under the best coaches around. So why on earth would they be making these sideways passes?
Next time you see these passes watch what happens 1, 2 or 3 passes on. Sometimes to go forward the ball has to go back or sideways. Everytime the ball moves, players are moved, even if its just one step. People think for example that Tiki Taka is all about ball possession and frustrating the opposition. Its not. Its all about keeping the ball moving so that in turn opposition players are moved and that in turn can create passing channels and opportunities.
Where is Cleverely making all these sideways passes?. In his own half and mostly in his own defensive third when he comes to recieve the ball off the defenders. What happens when he comes for the ball, he moves an opposition player creating a space where they once were. the ball goes sideways and then one or 2 passes after that ends up making use of that initial space created.

THe intention is nice stack but we didnt achieve any of this against newcastle. From the first few minutes, Evans is looking up trying to find a passing option and neither CM does a great job of making themselves available. If you feel I'm making that up then that's on you but Cleverley was not good against Newcastle.

Sometimes there's no need to play a sideways pass, especially if a player further forward is in open space (usually not for very long). That's good analysis on the point of using sideways passes but the flipside of that is passing sideways and not moving the opposition out of shape even though they are moving to compensate with movement of the ball.

 

[Gladiator]

It's incredible that our midfield state has got so bad that we're arguing how well our players are showing for the ball. Jesus christ

 

[jojojo]

I think we've let him down. When I think about some of the promise he showed and some of the interplay between Welbeck and Cleverley when Tom first came into the team, I'm saddened by the changes since. I don't know if he just got lucky in those early games, whether it's injuries, coaching or lack of confidence but he looks awkward now. He looks like a player who's scared of making a mistake and who is failing to deliver what he's capable of, because of it.

I actually thought he was a little better against Newcastle, I still think he can be better than a squad player, but it's fair to say that he's running out of time.

 

[Carl]

I think we've let him down. When I think about some of the promise he showed and some of the interplay between Welbeck and Cleverley when Tom first came into the team, I'm saddened by the changes since. I don't know if he just got lucky in those early games, whether it's injuries, coaching or lack of confidence but he looks awkward now. He looks like a player who's scared of making a mistake and who is failing to deliver what he's capable of, because of it.

I actually thought he was a little better against Newcastle, I still think he can be better than a squad player, but it's fair to say that he's running out of time.

I thought he looked decent for the first 20mins or so but was absolute gash after that.

 

[kouroux]

I find it funny when he sometimes makes a pass to a player and just makes a run to no man's land.

 

[SirFergie]

@Stack - I'm not saying he was bad, however to say he was good is a bit naive. The first intention when receiving the ball should be to look forward, Cleverley doesn't do that with any regularity. Passing sideways is keeping the ball for the sake of keeping the ball, if a player doesn't know what to do with the ball then the team is more than likely to lose possession '1, 2 or 3' sideways passes later due to being pressured. In turn, if this happens 95% of the time, then you lose the confidence of the forward players in any movement they make, and they stop making the runs in behind, the runs in the channels. It's amazing how much more movement we have up front with Giggs in the middle because the forward players know he is going to put the ball in behind. It's all very well and good being what you should be for 5 minutes an half but he needs to show it all match.

 

[bosnian_red]

I thought he looked decent for the first 20mins or so but was absolute gash after that.

Yeah, I remember thinking "he must be reading the caf, doing long balls, forward passes, moving it around quickly" and then he reverted back to his normal disappointing self.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

He did start well. There was a move - after ten or so? - where he actually completed a dribble and pass sequence that had me fist pumping. Not because it was a grand move - but because he did it. Precisely the sort of thing he should be doing - but does all too rarely.

 

[Fergus' son]

Looked a lot better tonight, hopefully he can kick on from here because we certainly need him to.

 

[LR7]

He gets more than his fair share criticism so I hope he gets a bit of credit for a good showing tonight. he played some decent forward passes and upped our tempo when he came on. Showed a good bit of fight and desire too I thought.

 

[sullydnl]

Improved us when he came on today.

 

[Genius Me!]

The last few matches he's started to get back to what I saw in him a couple of years ago. So happy to see him getting back to what he's capable of, he can still improve but I do feel that the players around him need to utilise him better.

Basically when Cleverley makes his simple passes, he draws out opposition and then moves forward himself, his team mates need to learn to be ready to just pass it straight back to him so that he can drive it forward.

So yeah, when his teammates start learning to give him the return pass after he moves forward I think we'll start to see the best of him. How else do we expect a pass and move player to excel.

 

[bosnian_red]

Why can't he show this desire and positive thinking every game? Was very good when he came on, tried to be decisive with his passing for once which was good to see. Lets hope he keeps it up next game and doesn't go back to his usual self though.

 

[RoadTrip]

Why can't he show this desire and positive thinking every game? Was very good when he came on, tried to be decisive with his passing for once which was good to see. Lets hope he keeps it up next game and doesn't go back to his usual self though.

Agree - much much more positive today.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Better performance from him. I honestly think he looks better when he comes off the bench or for the first half hour or so of matches. When he starts and plays a full 90 minutes or close to it, his performance does drop something terrible.

 

[Salfordlad70]

Very pleased with his contribution when he came on.More of that please and he'll have a place in this squad, but I don't think it's likely, and I am not convinced he has it in him but he has responded to his criticism and his attitude was spot on,so well done Tom!

 

[Shark]

To be fair, he looked like he was coming into form vs Newcastle too. Hopefully he keeps going.

 

[kundalini]

Improved us when he came on today.

Hardly difficult given that Giggs was astonishingly bad both with and without the ball. Having said that, Cleverley looked a far more accomplished midfield player than the two starters.

 

[Devil may care]

He looked sharp when he came, much more lively than he has in a while, should start on Sunday.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Good performance. Hopefully he can build from here, we could really do with him kicking on a bit in Carrick's absence.

 

[TheSamulator]

I'm a big Cleverley fan myself and i was pleased to see him come on tonight and really improve us and do some of the things we know he can do but needs to do more often. However, i will ask, do we think the lower pressing of the opposition as opposed to the way we seem to get pressed in the PL helped him out here? I mean, Shakthar were pressing yes, but i don't know, he just seemed like he had more space tonight. Perhaps it was simply because he utilized what space he had better than he has been doing in the PL. If that's the case then i hope we can see him do that more often in the PL because he certainly looks to have it in him.

 

[SER19]

Wow that's interesting. I was reading an article the other day by Jonathon Wilson and he was talking about the same exact thing. He talked about how Cleverley's role this season seems to be as a facilitator (recycling possession and all that jazz). He made the point that this role is odd because in essence what good is it having a facilitator if there's nothing to facilitate?

That's exactly how I feel about Cleverley right now. He seems content with playing those types of passes but he needs to be more adventurous. He has it within him but he looks so far from it. Usually he would be the player who would up our tempo and provide some urgency with his passes and runs but he's not doing that anymore. There was one instance against Newcastle where Evans was on the ball and Cleverley slowly jogged towards him pointing at his feet. But what caught me out was that Cleverley did in the most sheepish way possible. It was infuriating. Show for the ball tom!

was much better tonight i felt, running in between their defence and midfield looking for a pass.

 

[Gladiator]

was much better tonight i felt, running in between their defence and midfield looking for a pass.

I need to watch the game again..i was multitasking but i definitely noticed it. the whole team stepped up..not sure what changed

 

[Eric'sCollar]

Did well I thought, looked like he had a point to prove and had the intensity back in his play.

Good signs.

 

[Sam]

I'd like that Cleverley back.

 

[mattsville]

Having watched him through the youth teams, I always felt if he was to excel here it would be by being neat, tidy and positive going forward (which he does is in general) but that his defining contribution would be getting on the end of moves in the box, timing attacking runs and slotting balls home, that promising feature of his game has stagnated. He has an usual leaned over body action when delivering a long ball or cross which gives the impression of considered precision but only occasionally its successful, he needs to be more consistent if he is to make that a trademark, definintion is the key word with Tom, in terms of a midfielder, what is he?

 

[MikeUpNorth]

He'd be fine as a 4th choice midfielder behind Carrick and two others. It's the same issue with Valencia, Young and the like - they're good enough to be squad players, but not of the quality that should be starting regularly.

 

[MoneyMay]

A very good performance. There was more positivity in his play. The "pass and move" special trick of his was back working well. And he finally scores a goal for us this season. I hope he can perform at this level and show more of an authoritative approach.