with the season halfway thru, here is my review of the squad performance so far with a football manager element
GK
david de gea (key player) - overall dependable when called upon, although not helped by a nervy defence in front of him; made a rare mistake against watford; needs to be more vocal and commanding of his defence; 7
sergio romero (backup) - decent backup to DDG; fielded in UEL; 6
Defence
harry maguire (key player) - above average performance; traditional engligh DC; uncomfortable with attackers direct running; has ventured further up to try and make things happen but he is the slowest defender, better to sit back and let lindelof venture forward; 7
aaron wan-bissaka (1st team) - overall good performance; times his tackles well, except at watford; needs to make more forward runs and put in more crosses; 8
victor lindelof (1st team/rotation) - below average performance; seems to be unable to handle the physicality of big forwards and attackers direct running; needs to improve his positioning and marking; bailly will provide competition when he returns; 5
luke shaw (rotation) - average performance; needs to make more forward runs and put in more crosses; 6
phil jones (backup) - did not grab his chance when given a starting berth, ogs also at fault with the wrong formation vs sheff utd; tackling can be rash; at 27 he should be in his prime, but sadly a backup; 4
ashley young (backup) - aging; decent crossing/set piece; suspect positioning and marking; 5
brandon williams (hot prospect) - played well when given chance; more incisive than shaw, at this rate, he will threaten shaw's place; 6
Midfield
paul pogba (key player) - man u sorely missed his creativity, vision and passing range; ogs is easing him in after 3mths out; needs to improve his consistency; 6
scott mctominay (1st team) - above average performance, a certain starter when fit; needs to improve shooting; 7
nemanja matic (1st team but ogs deem him a backup
) - i feel he is unfairly treated by ogs, he may not be pacy but he is composed, tidies things up, can hold the ball and provides cover, ogs' refusal to play him is causing the midfield to be soft and prone to overrun and expose the defence to unnecessary pressure; 6
fred (rotation) - overall inconsistent; the good: passing vs man city; the bad: lightweight and cannot hold up ball, lack of vision and passing range; needs to pair with a strong MC in center midfield; needs to improve on vision, passing, shooting and strength; 5
andreas pereira (rotation) - overall inconsistent; the good: the pressing and assist to martial vs burnley; the bad: lightweight and cannot hold up ball, indecision, lack of vision and passing range; needs to improve on vision, passing, shooting and strength; 5
daniel james (rotation) - shrewd 15m signing; full of energy and direct running, opponents have a hard time coping with his pace; also helps in defence with high work rate; ogs must not to overplay him; 8
jesse lingard (rotation) - off-field issues affected his form big time; needs to sort things out and focus on football; 3
juan mata (backup) - aging; supposed to be a creative playmaker but did not impress when fielded; tried to make runs to stretch the defence; 4
Attack
anthony martial (1st team) - decent output with 10 goals and 3 assists; finishing and heading can be improved; 7
marcus rashford (1st team) - fast becoming a key player for man u and he is only 22; good output with 16 goals and 5 assists; heading can be improved; 8
mason greenwood (hot prospect) - used as an impact sub, has scored 8 goals; invaluable experience in UEL; 7
eric bailly, marcos rojo, diogo dalot, timothy fosu-mensah recovering from long term injuries
angel gomes, james garner, axel tuanzebe, tahith chong, ethan laird, dylan levitt are youngsters and developing
wishing all a happy new year, hope man u have a better 2020 ahead
