Who is our third best player?

Lennon7 said:
It’s the Martial VdB categorisation I don’t get. Martial has produced more - most of last season. VdB hasn’t produced much yet besides being a silky little safe player. The logic and rationale behind it doesn’t make much sense to me, sorry.
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I'm not grading on last season. I'm grading on the here and now. A thread like this is always going to be subjective.
 
At their best? Pogba and Martial (Martial over Rashford IMO). Problem is they aren't at their best often enough or have holes in their game that they haven't addressed quickly enough to get the best out of them consistently and I think that's a huge part of why we've struggled for a while. Pogba was blatantly our best player during the Jose era, when he wasn't on form the entire team struggled and we had no creativity in his absence, and that's exactly the issue, there's no point in your star player being there if he isn't consistent.
 
It's been so long since i got happy reading a tread here.

1. Bruno
2. Maguire
3. Is hard, but maybe Cavani if he continues he's awesome start at United.
 
The OP is open for interpretation which I understand is intended.

For me "best players" are the most difficult to replace. So yeah, Bruno 1st (no replacement), Fred (we have great record when he's starting games), Maguire (because he's the only CB we have that I trust in the EPL).
Rashford is easily replaced by either of Martial, Greenwood, they seem to be in the same shit form.

Difficult to say about De Gea, as we don't know what to make of Henderson. Dave has not been impressive really, our defense is doing well not to keep him busy (4th best team in terms of shots on target) yet he's second worst goalkeeper in the league in terms of % of shots saved (Brighton 1st). It's worth pointing out so far this season he saved 57% of shots (19th), while last season he had 74% shots saved (4th best) so quite a change.
 
Bruno, Rashford, Fred and Maguire are probably our best performers.

Early days, but Cavani and VDB are very good players who look like they could also make a significant contribution.
 
Andy_Cole said:
Shaw? :lol::lol::lol:

For me it was Martial by a mile but he’s been horrendous this season.

It’s probably Cavani.
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Mo Caine said:
What a state we must be in if Shaw is seen by some as our 3rd best player
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I know. I will never understand. Shaw has never enjoyed a season close to Martial last season. Even when he won Players player of the year it was with raised eyebrows.
 
Its close between Maguire and Fred for me.

Maguire after a disastrous start of the season when probably there was too much on his mind (Greece incident) has steadied the ship and is now playing good regularly. He's getting too much flak here and his price is mentioned so much so he doesn't get the credit he deserves.

Fred has really come by leaps and bounds since he wasnt getting any game time in the start of his United career. He's now a player in form who is really an important part of our midfield and therefore the whole team.
 
Lindelöf? Our worst results this season has mostly been without him.

He is our most underrated player for sure.
 
Last season I had our POTS as:
  1. Bruno
  2. Martial
  3. Rashford
In terms of ranking our "best players" in terms of how they tend to perform for us/current ability... id have it:
  1. Bruno
  2. Rashford
  3. Martial
  4. Pogba
  5. Wan Bissaka
  6. Cavani
  7. De Gea
  8. Maguire
  9. Van de Beek
  10. Shaw/Telles
  11. Fred
  12. Lindelof
  13. Henderson
  14. Greenwood
  15. McTominay/Matic
  16. Tuanzebe
  17. Mata
  18. James
  19. Lingard
  20. Williams
  21. Ighalo
Something like that maybe? Bruno on a tier of his own, Rashford and Martial a similar tier, pogba alone a tier below, 5-9 probably a similar tier, then 10-15, Tuanzebe, then 17-21 at the bottom.
 
It is a tough one, I can't really come up with the answer right now but when I pick our teams the first players I am usually having in my head are:

de Gea
Maguire
Wan-Bissaka
Fred
Bruno
Rashford

I feel like the other positions in the team at least have more competition to them.

eg.

Left Back - Shaw would probably get a big nod as he's been the choice for a pretty long time, but Telles would definitely be getting some votes right now.
Centre Back - Lindelof is pretty much the go-to and who I'd always pick, but I think a lot of people want to see more of Tuanzebe or if Bailly can take the spot.
Midfield - This pretty much changes all the time with so many good candidates and it also depends on who we are playing.
Forwards - Martial would still probably be an auto-pick for a lot of us, but I have a feeling Cavani is going to have something to say about it if Tony doesn't start finishing more chances. Greenwood as well for the right side, but I feel like the most likely guaranteed starter out of the main four is definitely Rashford for now. However, that could just be because he is the most comfortable in a position where the other three don't seem as happy to play.
 
Bruno is our best player and the rest need to improve a lot. Cavani and VDB have done well given their time on the pitch. Fred should get a shout out but the rest really need to improve a lot.
 
Lynty said:
Pogba or Martial.

Or are we disregarding the tail end of last season?
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Why would we be judging them on the tail end of last season? Much bigger sample size and current form to consider. Neither are top 3. Martial is on the verge of losing his starting spot and Pogba may have already.
 
I think its Martial and i know its unpopular but I still think his best is better than Rashford. He was unbelievable at the end of last season.
 
Schmeichel's Cartwheel said:
People saying Shaw, he isn’t even our best left back...

I don’t agree Rashford is our second best player either, he’s miles too inconsistent.

In terms of footballing ability Pogba is our best player & Martial is probably 2nd. In terms of overall contribution Bruno is easily our best player & Fred is probably 2nd.

Maguire is hugely overrated on here.
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Pogba and Martial are our 2 best players and Maguire is the overrated one?

Good lord, you are a gem.
 
Maguire for me!
Someone start a thread for example, rating our most "gifted" players. That would be more interesting. How many would have Greenwood at no 1. Me for a start!
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
I’d go with Maguire.
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I'd too.

Maybe.

On a good day.

Could be Dave, though - he hasn't been too bad lately. And on his day, he's obviously miles above most - still.

And if a certain "negrito" keeps up his form, it would be him.

It actually would - which is both a good thing and a bad thing, I suppose.
 
Depends on how much back we are looking at. In the current form it seems to be Fred followed by Lindelof.
 
During the restart it was

Bruno
Maguire
Martial
Pogba

Now it's probably

Bruno
Maguire
Rashford
AWB

Pogba and Martial have dropped to maybe 7th and 8th. I hope both can reclaim their top form.
 
“Best“ for me is the sum of attributes like performance, age, injury proneness, tactical importance, even market value and image importance. On this merit, I agree with OP on Rashford.

3rd - I’m torn: Martial (best striker last season), Maguire (tactically most important after Bruno), Fred (win rate, midfield combat), AWB - best defensive full back in the world with tons of potential. So, I will treat them as tiers.

4rth - again, fierce competition Shaw, MCT, Greenwood, Lindelof.


It is a sign of a very classy team.
 
Fred.

The only consistant midfielder. He's been tried with others (McTominay, Matic, Pogba, occasionally another), but none have secured a the second midfield berth.

All the defenders, and attackers (Martial, Greenwood, Cavani & De Beek) have either not played well or have been sparsely used.
 
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Rashford or Martial. They are the highest of the level below Fernandes and Pogba.
 
Bruno (obviously)
Maguire (reliable, consistent, solid overall)
Fred (considering current form and sheer tenacity to harass the opposition midfield. Total mopper and disruptor)
 
In their best form

1 Bruno
2 Pogba
3 Cavani
 
Schmeichel's Cartwheel said:
2 years ago Pogba topped our stats in every category, from goals to assists to tackles to interceptions.

Short memories.
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I know, but how valuable his stat was for the team? The problem with Pogba is that his game can add to his stat but at the cost of team welfare. His presence invites high press, slow down counter. When other players' stats goes down, his stat has low value to the team.

Although he had few brilliant games I agree.
 
At the moment,
1. Bruno
2. Maguire
3. Rashford
4. De Gea
5. Fred

All those slating Martial will be putting him right back in there when he gets his mojo back.
 
Class or form?

Class...I’d say Fernandes, De Gea and Pogba.
Form...Fernandes, Cavani and Fred

Sure, Cavani has had a very brief run for for United so far, but what a run it’s been. Fred has been brilliant for us lately, but my god he was horrific for a long time before the light bulb finally went off for him.
 
If you're talking over the whole of last season and the start of this, I'd say:

1. Bruno
2. Rashford
3. Pogba/Martial
4. AWB/Fred
5. Maguire/Shaw/McT

Promising starts from Greenwood and now DVB, neither included as they're not yet regulars.

But really these kinds of things are nonsensical. None of these players do what they do independently of one another. Rashford and Martial are always best when on the pitch together, for example, because most defences don't have enough resources to keep both of them quiet at the same time.
 
If we start seeing a front 3 of Martial, Cavani and Rashford (from left to right) with Bruno in the #10 and VdB in midfield, I truly believe we will start scoring in bunches. Especially if Telles is offering the width from the left and whipping in crosses. And with Rashford on the right we will finally have a threat from that side of the field as well as he will take his man wide and smash in some low crosses (Greenwood always looked to score). This will also take pressure off AWB to be a big offensive threat and allow him to concentrate more on his defending. Odd men out seem to be Pogba and Shaw. Pogba is good as gone and will fetch a decent fee in the summer. Shaw however hasn't done anything wrong. He's probably been the most consistently good player in our squad whenever he's been available. Problem is, as everyone knows, he's injury prone. We all know he can play LCB in a back 3. I wonder if he could play that role as Maguires partner. At least then we would have a left footer and Maguire can shift into Lindelof's position. Either way, it's definitely exciting times in Manchester...
 
Crustanoid said:
Don’t get the lack of De Gea love here . He’s still world class
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He really isnt anymore, Oblak, Alisson, Ter Stegen, Neuer, Courtouis are all confortably better than him right now. I know he makes one worldclass save now and then but the stats don't lie, his xG is around average from the last 2 seasons. Mainly because his brainfarts gave easy goals away, but I would rather have a keeper that blocks the shots he should block than one that can block amazing shots but also gives away easy goals.
 
Luke Shaw is quite as influential as as any. Most of the productive stuff Utd does he is involved in , either through his runs or direct contribution on the ball. That’s ignoring his defensive contributions.
Haha. And let’s not ignore the guy from that Island near Brazil. He might not be what we want but is a massive contributor.
 
bosnian_red said:
Last season I had our POTS as:
  1. Bruno
  2. Martial
  3. Rashford
In terms of ranking our "best players" in terms of how they tend to perform for us/current ability... id have it:
  1. Bruno
  2. Rashford
  3. Martial
  4. Pogba
  5. Wan Bissaka
  6. Cavani
  7. De Gea
  8. Maguire
  9. Van de Beek
  10. Shaw/Telles
  11. Fred
  12. Lindelof
  13. Henderson
  14. Greenwood
  15. McTominay/Matic
  16. Tuanzebe
  17. Mata
  18. James
  19. Lingard
  20. Williams
  21. Ighalo
Something like that maybe? Bruno on a tier of his own, Rashford and Martial a similar tier, pogba alone a tier below, 5-9 probably a similar tier, then 10-15, Tuanzebe, then 17-21 at the bottom.
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Revised:
  1. Bruno
  2. Shaw
  3. Rashford
  4. Pogba
  5. Maguire
  6. Wan Bissaka
  7. Fred
  8. McTominay
  9. De Gea
  10. Henderson
  11. Cavani
  12. Martial
  13. Lindelof
  14. Bailly
  15. Greenwood
  16. James
  17. Van de beek
  18. Telles
  19. Matic
  20. Mata
  21. Tuanzebe
  22. Williams
Tiers:
1-4, 5-7, 7-10, 11-14, 15-18, 19-22.
 
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