Why did we buy Fred?

Maybe Fred is actually amazing, maybe he has been absolutely rocking it in training, and Ole is keeping him back for the Liverpool game, to completely take them by surprise. Maybe on Sunday he and Pogba will absolutely tear an unsuspecting Liverpool limb from limb.

Not saying its likely. But a man can daydream.
 
Why did we buy Fred?

Who knows? who cares?

We did buy Fred.

So let's get behind him, get him integrated, and see what he can do in this team.
 
afrocentricity said:
Why did we buy Fred?

Who knows? who cares?

We did buy Fred.

So let's get behind him, get him integrated, and see what he can do in this team.
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Agree as what else have we got to lose? Not sure why the forums answer to everything is to get rid whilst we lord managers like Pep and Poch for bringing players on....
 
Litch said:
Agree as what else have we got to lose? Not sure why the forums answer to everything is to get rid whilst we lord managers like Pep and Poch for bringing players on....
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Since we already have spent that money on him then we must hope he can perform when called upon (regardless of how far away that seems now).
What should be questioned and critized is why we are spending £50m on a 25 year old midfielder and he is the 6th option in midfield. If he was a 20 year for the future then this could be understandable, but not this. On what basis did we make the decision to buy him? Who made the decision? Was there not any better players available?
 
Jonno said:
Not just because of tradition, but tradition does play a part, yes - we're Manchester United and we promote youth. But more importantly because Mourinho has seen something in him and Solskjaer has seen something in him. Solskjaer has effectively been picking him as a sub ahead of £50m Fred, what does that tell you? He's worthy of being in our squad and is very young, why ship him out just because he's not set the world alight yet?
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Don't take it wrong. I like the young Tom as well, and I think he's been doing fine and worth to keep. And if possible, who doesn't want a team full of academies?

Tom has proven himself as a good squad player, but I don't think we are in position now to gamble by adding more and more youth players.
 
Based on the footage of his performances for Shakhtar, I'd say as a deep-lying playmaker.
 
He's more box to box who can thrive at moving the ball quickly, unfortunately he's not very defensively aware right now and Herrera is in the form of his life.
 
Let’s face it so far Fred has been pants. I saw signs early on of what he could offer that would be positive but it has been steam rolled over by the negatives. The fact he is barely getting a look in under ole, who seems keen to experiment is a huge concern as he can’t be looking too good in training either.
 
From what i have seen of him, he had good vision. But was caught in possession a couple of times. Not as safe as herrera with the ball. Perhaps does not have Herreras work rate either. But probably better vision.
 
Fosu-Mens said:
Since we already have spent that money on him then we must hope he can perform when called upon (regardless of how far away that seems now).
What should be questioned and critized is why we are spending £50m on a 25 year old midfielder and he is the 6th option in midfield. If he was a 20 year for the future then this could be understandable, but not this. On what basis did we make the decision to buy him? Who made the decision? Was there not any better players available?
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I hear you and would be asking the same question if he was playing regularly under the current regime and not performing but 18 games most under Jose from the bench?
 
If we look at the most recent videos of hi -- sure they only show the best bits but you know there is a player there.

A cross between a Matic and Herrera.
 
sglowrider said:
If we look at the most recent videos of hi -- sure they only show the best bits but you know there is a player there.
A cross between a Matic and Herrera.
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If you go by highlights, Fellaini looks like Arturo Vidal in his prime.
 
Maccataq said:
To be fair, it's pretty difficult to drop Matic/Herrera/Pogba at the moment. Matic is probably the weak link but I don't see Fred in that role and whilst you could perhaps have Herrera play that role with Fred playing in Herrera's position, I feel like we would lose what Herrera contributes. Given time, I expect Fred to do well for us - if he doesn't get a chance against PSG, I will be surprised. Matic probably needs a rest at some point and will probably pick up a suspension soon as well so there will be other chances too.
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Why is this exclusive-or philosophy? Is Matic/Herrera/Pogba that good? What happened at the PSG game? Why can't Fred bring in something extra to this trio? How old are Matic and Herrera btw and you expect both to play 40 games a season? What matters most is whether Fred can adapt to the EPL and how soon we will see the best of him. There is enough place for 4 top line MF particularly when we are playing 3MF all the time.
 
Litch said:
Agree. 18 games most from the bench in a team playing the most tumescent football for years that no one played well under Jose and yet there's some that want to binned him off without seeing him play under Ole? This forum sometimes.....
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Litch said:
Pre or Post Jose.....
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Jose Mourinho has gave him more minutes and chances compared to Ole and you guys blame Mou because Ole didn't even bother playing him ? Ridiculous ,if any this is proving that Ole didn't trust Fred to play his football so how is that Mourinho's fault ??
 
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Intilo said:
Jose Mourinho has gave him more minutes and chances compared to Ole and you guys blame Mou because Ole didn't even bother playing him ? Ridiculous ,if any this is proving that Ole didn't trust Fred to play his football so how is that Mourinho's fault ??
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Well some one at OT wanted him and Mourinho was the manager at the time. So I would say it is Mourinho who is at fault because Woodward bought him presumably because Mourinho wanted him. In fact didn’t Mourinho say he was brought in to complement Pogba?
 
sglowrider said:
If we look at the most recent videos of hi -- sure they only show the best bits but you know there is a player there.

A cross between a Matic and Herrera.
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Bloodyhell its an advertising video.
Even A Dacia Duster looks half reasonable in an advert but I wouldn’t touch one of them with a barge pole.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
Not the best examples, really, from OGS there. Forlan and Veron were obviously very good players, as they proved elsewhere (and occasionally for United too, especially in Veron's case) - but they never settled and never seemed good fits for the English game.
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In a hindsight I think we should have kept Forlan a bit longer. His final season with us he was actually pretty decent.
 
Sarni said:
In a hindsight I think we should have kept Forlan a bit longer. His final season with us he was actually pretty decent.
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A peak Forlan, as he showed after leaving us, would have been amazing alongside Rooney and Ronaldo in later years.
 
Melville Red said:
Well some one at OT wanted him and Mourinho was the manager at the time. So I would say it is Mourinho who is at fault because Woodward bought him presumably because Mourinho wanted him. In fact didn’t Mourinho say he was brought in to complement Pogba?
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So what kind of fault he did ? Wasting money or Fred being inept ? Ole didn't want to play him has nothing to do with Mourinho.
 
2cents said:
A peak Forlan, as he showed after leaving us, would have been amazing alongside Rooney and Ronaldo in later years.
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I've never seen another player go from being so poor for one team to so great for another. It normally happens the other way round. And it's not like we didn't give him a chance.
 
Intilo said:
So what kind of fault he did ? Wasting money or Fred being inept ? Ole didn't want to play him has nothing to do with Mourinho.
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Mourinho, bought him, he’s at fault. Ole isn’t at fault he’s played him seen first hand what he’s capable of and has decided to date not to play him again.
 
Intilo said:
Jose Mourinho has gave him more minutes and chances compared to Ole and you guys blame Mou because Ole didn't even bother playing him ? Ridiculous ,if any this is proving that Ole didn't trust Fred to play his football so how is that Mourinho's fault ??
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No mention of blame at all so no idea where that's come from. Trust....only 13 games in, let that sink in a little. Like said, let's see him a little more under the new style of football before we write him off just yet....
 
Melville Red said:
Mourinho, bought him, he’s at fault. Ole isn’t at fault he’s played him seen first hand what he’s capable of and has decided to date not to play him again.
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Bebe , Kleberson , Veron , Forlan , Djemba djemba , Obertan, Bellion etc.Who bought them all ? SAF , then whose fault that all of them flop , SAF too ? Player flopping happens anywhere and it's not manager fault , Coutinho cost 150m and no one blame Barca manager for his shortcomings. In real life work no one blame the HR department / user /manager for recruiting dross with problematic attitude or lack of skills. They let/made them resign by giving them unimportant task , few responsibility , no promotion or just replace them with someone else, same as football.

Litch said:
No mention of blame at all so no idea where that's come from. Trust....only 13 games in, let that sink in a little. Like said, let's see him a little more under the new style of football before we write him off just yet....
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We ? Ole is the one writing him off not us. 13 games is a lot , more than half of Mourinho total this season ( 24 ) which less than half minutes Mourinho gave for him and looking at our upcoming fixtures , He isn't going to play except injuries happens to our starting midfielder.
 
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cyril C said:
Why is this exclusive-or philosophy? Is Matic/Herrera/Pogba that good? What happened at the PSG game? Why can't Fred bring in something extra to this trio? How old are Matic and Herrera btw and you expect both to play 40 games a season? What matters most is whether Fred can adapt to the EPL and how soon we will see the best of him. There is enough place for 4 top line MF particularly when we are playing 3MF all the time.
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Matic is 30 and Herrera is 29 - I didn't say anything about them playing 40 games a season (although Matic probably does and Herrera probably should), I meant it's difficult given that we are in the business end of the season and we are playing a lot of big games at the moment. PSG game aside, that trio has worked for us but as I said Matic is probably the weak link in so much as he lacks mobility to act as an effective defensive cover. Fred can bring different qualities and I would like to see him get more opportunities and I can see promise in Herrera/Fred/Pogba as a trio but I do think we need to find a Matic replacement either way.

Over the course of a full season under Ole, I expect he would play a lot more but clearly he isn't able to break into the first team at the moment but part of that could be because he's just had a baby and has taken time out for that because he hasn't been involved a couple of times recently.
 
Vidic
Evra
Ronaldo
Cole
Fletcher
Lindelof

To name a few.

Let's give him time. If he's still crap this time next year we can write him off.
 
Intilo said:
Bebe , Kleberson , Veron , Forlan , Djemba djemba , Obertan, Bellion etc.Who bought them all ? SAF , then whose fault that all of them flop , SAF too ? Player flopping happens anywhere and it's not manager fault , Coutinho cost 150m and no one blame Barca manager for his shortcomings. In real life work no one blame the HR department / user /manager for recruiting dross with problematic attitude or lack of skills. They let/made them resign by giving them unimportant task , few responsibility , no promotion or just replace them with someone else, same as football.


We ? Ole is the one writing him off not us. 13 games is a lot , more than half of Mourinho total this season ( 24 ) which less than half minutes Mourinho gave for him and looking at our upcoming fixtures , He isn't going to play except injuries happens to our starting midfielder.
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Clearly you haven't read Ole's thoughts on him. 13 games a lot, what a joker. Ole says it, people just think you arrive to a new country, new culture, new league, new team, new manager, new players and because because we paid 50m for someone, the money must negate being a human being. The league is littered with high profile players that took time to settle. Not saying it's going to work out for him but it's hard to think of a worse time to sign for Utd in modern day football both on and off the pitch.
There's a child like mentality in football that if it's not a instant, you get rid and start again. The interesting thing is I'm not sure how people are coming to that conclusion as we having fecking seen him play anything but limited minutes. Patience as I don't know what there is to gain from selling him anyway....
 
Seems like his biggest struggle has been with the speed & physicality of the PL. Which is normal coming from a lower league, still think he will be a good player for us. Just might take longer than we were hoping for.
 
Litch said:
Clearly you haven't read Ole's thoughts on him. 13 games a lot, what a joker. Ole says it, people just think you arrive to a new country, new culture, new league, new team, new manager, new players and because because we paid 50m for someone, the money must negate being a human being. The league is littered with high profile players that took time to settle. Not saying it's going to work out for him but it's hard to think of a worse time to sign for Utd in modern day football both on and off the pitch.
There's a child like mentality in football that if it's not a instant, you get rid and start again. The interesting thing is I'm not sure how people are coming to that conclusion as we having fecking seen him play anything but limited minutes. Patience as I don't know what there is to gain from selling him anyway....
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How do you know he was honest about Fred when he never said negative thing to our players ? Jose Mourinho was so hated here because he actually said negative thing about your favourite player but that also means he is an honest manager. Ole's action speak louder than his words , even Dalot , Pereira and Mctominay has more minutes than Fred under him, Ole even praise Darmian against Reading but we don't see him anymore on the pitch till today , what he said on Fred means nothing. He watch him on training field almost everyday and decide he isn't good enough to start , if Fred want to revive his career he would ask for transfer this summer.
Maccataq said:
Matic is 30 and Herrera is 29 - I didn't say anything about them playing 40 games a season (although Matic probably does and Herrera probably should), I meant it's difficult given that we are in the business end of the season and we are playing a lot of big games at the moment. PSG game aside, that trio has worked for us but as I said Matic is probably the weak link in so much as he lacks mobility to act as an effective defensive cover. Fred can bring different qualities and I would like to see him get more opportunities and I can see promise in Herrera/Fred/Pogba as a trio but I do think we need to find a Matic replacement either way.
.
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Matic has been slow since his title winning season with Chelsea , He was never a mobile player to begin with , but you won't be able to name a single manager that doesn't like him because maybe they didn't rate him only by his pace. Regular Football fans only rate pace / agility as an attribute a footballer must have , they can't see any other qualities. I still laugh at how everyone thought Pereira or Fred would immediately replace him on starting eleven after Jose was sacked. Shows how shallow their knowledge about football is.
 
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reddevil702 said:
Seems like his biggest struggle has been with the speed & physicality of the PL. Which is normal coming from a lower league, still think he will be a good player for us. Just might take longer than we were hoping for.
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Goes beyond the difference between leagues, Douglas Costa would probably settle in any EPL coming from Shaktar without problem.

Fred has that futsal style, the way he turns, how he controls the ball and dribbles, his style is polished to shine in tight spaces and United will demand of him to command more meters, he has to either improve a lot his range of action in the pitch, or become really great specialist as a ball recycler and defensive anchor.
 
Red00012 said:
To the OP the only reason I can think of at the moment is he fits in nicely into the Ole’s at the wheel song. That’s it really
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the biggest dilemma we have over Fred is do we keep him or replace him in the song once he leaves?

can Ole find a one syllabled replacement in the same window? Or perhaps we can get away with 'Dave'?
 
In my opinion - the reason he possibly struggles is because he isn't as defensively capable as Herrera. He was probably bought to play alongside Pogba but playing those 2 together is dangerous.

When Pogba is out - I expect him to get some games.
 
Aloysius's Back 3 said:
In my opinion - the reason he possibly struggles is because he isn't as defensively capable as Herrera. He was probably bought to play alongside Pogba but playing those 2 together is dangerous.

When Pogba is out - I expect him to get some games.
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Do you think he will play vs PSG ? I doubt but there is nothing to lose huh ?
 
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