Which players do you think could surprise us next season?

Tarrou

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I know, I know. All our players are shit, lazy etc.. but feck it I'm gonna try and create a positive thread.

The manager is gonna have to try and get a tune out of some of them next season, because the rebuild will obviously take more than one summer.

I think Shaw, Fred and Rashford will improve under and Ten Hag and have decent seasons. McT I can see being retrained at CB or RB and become a useful squad player.
 
Tarrou said:
I know, I know. All our players are shit, lazy etc.. but feck it I'm gonna try and create a positive thread.

The manager is gonna have to try and get a tune out of some of them next season, because the rebuild will obviously take more than one summer.

I think Shaw, Fred and Rashford will improve under and Ten Hag and have decent seasons. McT I can see being retrained at CB or RB and become a useful squad player.
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I could see Rashford improving if he was playing in his best position, on the left but the problem is, that’s where Sancho needs to play as well
 
Harry Maguire, genuinely. He's been absolutely atrocious this season, setting the bar so low that even a vaguely solid season akin to others he's had in the past will seem a big improvement. And I certainly think he's capable of that at least.
 
Shaw, Maguire and Fred have all had periods were they have looked top class players for either us or their national teams. Bruno looks absolutely shite now but he was a top 5 player in the league for a good 18 months. Varane hasn’t set the world alight for us but we all know how good he’s been for the last 8 years. It’s not out of the realms of possibility that these players look back to their best under a competent coach. Dalot isn’t a great attacking full back granted but he’s comfortable on the ball and picks out some great passes so I can see him having some success as an inverted full back.

It’s not all doom and gloom.
 
I reckon all the English players heading to the world cup are going to disappoint again.

I'd look at one of Garner, Shoretire or Mejbri staking a spot in the starting X1, like Januzaj or Rashford did in their first seasons, unless they go out on loan.
 
If we get Ten Haag and he manages to get us playing decent football, I think Sancho could have a good season.

He needs good movement around him.
 
Sancho, Donny, Lindelof.

Varane if he can stay fit

Struggle to think of any others!

If we get him (seems too exciting to be true) what sort of players does ETH like?
 
Tavern in the town said:
Shaw, Maguire and Fred have all had periods were they have looked top class players for either us or their national teams. Bruno looks absolutely shite now but he was a top 5 player in the league for a good 18 months. Varane hasn’t set the world alight for us but we all know how good he’s been for the last 8 years. It’s not out of the realms of possibility that these players look back to their best under a competent coach. Dalot isn’t a great attacking full back granted but he’s comfortable on the ball and picks out some great passes so I can see him having some success as an inverted full back.

It’s not all doom and gloom.
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Shaw has had several spells of looking top class amid even longer spells of looking poor to average.

There’s no doubt that he’s a high maintenance player. If the new manager gets him playing consistently then great, but I really wouldn’t blame them if they decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
 
Maybe AWB, seems like a player that could benefit from a lot of coaching instructions and strong guidance. We've seen him look pretty adept at intricate play and nice crosses sometimes but then mostly looking nervous or unsure.
 
Martial and Lindelöf. Hoping Laird and/or Amad can spring a surprise too.
 
James Garner. Players like Shaw and Rashford cannot possibly this poor for too much longer, unless Rashford has done a Dele Alli. In Shaw's case, he'll need to be more aggressive and assertive with his role and the left side.

A youth player is going to be a major part of the player rotation whether it is starting XI or key player off the bench as part of the 5 subs. I'm going with Garner.
 
buckooo1978 said:
Too soon for Ethan Laird?
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If I were him, I'd end my loan as soon as possible with Bournemouth and totally focus myself within the club and be there everyday before, during, and after the new manager sets foot at Carrington.

If he's injury free and gets stronger fitter, he could go from 3rd/4th choice RB to 2nd/1st choice. Or be a consideration for RWB if that's what could also be deployed.
 
Rozay said:
There’s more to football than this. Everyone has become so press obsessed these days.
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It usually starts with effort and caring in the first place... right ? Or I'm still wrong about Martial who had a blast on loan.

It's not looking good for him, but he'll stay and he'll play as Greenwood, Cavani and Ronaldo, all could be gone.
 
sullydnl said:
Harry Maguire, genuinely. He's been absolutely atrocious this season, setting the bar so low that even a vaguely solid season akin to others he's had in the past will seem a big improvement. And I certainly think he's capable of that at least.
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He's had a long career and one bad season so with a credible coach seems a certainty
 
Van Piorsing said:
It usually starts with effort and caring in the first place... right ? Or I'm still wrong about Martial who had a blast on loan.

It's not looking good for him, but he'll stay and he'll play as Greenwood, Cavani and Ronaldo, all could be gone.
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He’s had good seasons before. And he wasn’t running around pressing everyone. Anyway, my comment was a passing one. It seems every conversation about football these days quickly descends into whether a player meets a press threshold, a manager can implement pressing, press this and press that. So little poetry left in the game today, it’s just 22 cyborgs trying to outrun and outfight each other.
 
With a man with a plan - that is Ten Haag - I expect our attacking options to improve. I think we'll see Sancho move back to the right, where he plays just as well as he does on the left, despite all the misinformed talk. Rashford will move back to the left and rediscover the joy of playing and score 20 goals again. Fernandes, hopefully, will be reined in a bit so that he plays both creatively within a disciplined structure. Ten Haag doesn't press like RR, but he does use the press. Fred has done well at #6 in forcing turnovers. Maguire has been a quality player, so he should bounce back. And hopefully Varane will have fewer injuries and therefore play more consistently.
 
It's hard to predict who will surprise us. If we knew the answer, it wouldn't much of a surprise.

Perhaps the better question is who among the current crop of players who have been poor this season are most likely to improve under ten Hag. Speculation of course, but I would say Marcus Rashford. There's no doubt he's had a horrific season but there is a quality footballer inside those boots who is capable of returning to his pre-shambolic form.
 
Maybe Maguire for a month or two. Sancho will succeed for sure. I feel confident in saying AWB isn't surprising jack. System football simplifies the game for those who actually have the tools. It's actually harder for those who don't because it puts them in pressure situations on the ball. I have no expectations with Rashford after watching him trying and failing to figure out where to pass in Rangnick's style. Like watching a kid struggle with the least likely puzzle pieces. He didn't even get past step one.
 
A Question about Greenwood!!

It seems that it is possible that charges will be dropped. I certainly don't condone what he did, but he is a 20-year-old kid and possibly merits a second chance? It always difficult to know without details, which we are not necessarily deserving to know. Is it at all possible that Greenwood could be back next year for United? Would that be a good thing?
 
Maybe vdb now that his daddy is coming over, also I like to see mctom in a box to box role.

Rashford could turn things around as well but it depends on how hard he is willing to work for it and if he has the mental Fortitude.
 
Rozay said:
He’s had good seasons before. And he wasn’t running around pressing everyone. Anyway, my comment was a passing one. It seems every conversation about football these days quickly descends into whether a player meets a press threshold, a manager can implement pressing, press this and press that. So little poetry left in the game today, it’s just 22 cyborgs trying to outrun and outfight each other.
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Fellaini please come back...

On a serious note, I totally get what you're saying and Ten Hag can play multi-combinational stuff, it's just we'll need Martial at least making runs or put a tackle, or react to situation quickly in that matter.

He's 26 so there's still time, he just need to stop wasting his best time as footballer, like few other bit older players did here in United.
 
Van Piorsing said:
Fellaini please come back...

On a serious note, I totally get what you're saying and Ten Hag can play multi-combinational stuff, it's just we'll need Martial at least making runs or put a tackle, or react to situation quickly in that matter.

He's 26 so there's still time, he just need to stop wasting his best time as footballer, like few other bit older players did here in United.
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A few goals could make all the difference tbh. Changes everything. If we could get Martial from 19/20 back I’d be delighted. His confidence seems too fragile though. Needless to say, I want us to sign a striker. But Martial at his best will certainly be useful.
 
Rozay said:
A few goals could make all the difference tbh. Changes everything. If we could get Martial from 19/20 back I’d be delighted. His confidence seems too fragile though. Needless to say, I want us to sign a striker. But Martial at his best will certainly be useful.
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It feels like if I trust him, he'll screw us over and a new manager who could be thrown under the traditional United bus... or a miracle will happen which they don't happen often. I hope you see my point too, but if he could be an impact sub with few goals up his sleeve, that he could save us some money.

We'll need a new striker anyway, with that I agree.
 
redshaw said:
Maybe AWB, seems like a player that could benefit from a lot of coaching instructions and strong guidance. We've seen him look pretty adept at intricate play and nice crosses sometimes but then mostly looking nervous or unsure.
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hes an interesting one - throw the Trent AA numbers away that people try to use as a barometer, because he’s a freak, and last season AWB had a decent amount of goal contributions for a fullback - 2 goals 6 assists. I think it gets overplayed in the hyperbole that he isnt an ‘attacking’ fullback. Hes an excellent one on one defender and tackler.

But he has been awful this season. Shocking pass accuracy, suspect positioning, bad decision making. Those are areas we knew about from his palace days and could probably have coached him on but i dont think we have had coaches that improve players in many years here - I cant think of any players we have improved under any manager post SAF. Martial and Rashford are two that I think would have been at another level by now at some other clubs but are floundering.

going forward he may not be the nailed on starter but he definetely has the potential to be turned into something more than he is. I hope thats the case for lots of our out of form players
 
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