Well I hope Clev doesn't go the way of Gibson and never get a run of games to prove himself. Sadly, it is looking like he will struggle to get PT with the first team this season.
Please !.. Gibson has had his fair share of opportunities to prove his worth at OT.. He is no where near to standards of a Top 4 English side that have CL ambitions
Gibson maybe wasn't the greatest, but he never really got a consistent run of games in midfield. And last season, he was good more often than anything else. At least good enough to continue as an off-the-bench midfielder at this club. Not a starter by any means, but he was a useful squaddie.
This. He could have provided the exact kind of depth we need to compete on four fronts. He ticked enough of the right boxes for that kind of role. Not everyone can be a Scholes or a Keane. And we don't need or want 6 Scholes or Keane's in our midfield.
He still has more to show us, but his outing today against Barca was all that could have been hoped for. He was asured whne he had time and although he could have showed for the ball more earlier on, once his confidence grew, he became more assertive. Postives: Pressed well Passed well Showed decent vision Good engine All in all, I think he's done himself a world of good in the manager's eyes against a quality opponent.
Agreed johno. I'd also add that he played with relative maturity. He wasn't wasteful, he never wandered out of position, he kept things simple when it was neccessary. I'm sure we'll see more from him when faced with a different kind of opposition but it's good to know that he's up for these kind of games as well. Honestly, I thought he'd be solely utilised as a final-third player this year but he really might get some games next to Carrick.
nimma - i don't know if he'll reach those heights and i'd be happy with a Carrick 2.0 or a (healthy) Hargreaves 2.0 but I see the little passes, the sprayed 60 yarders and I spoke with a former coach of both Clev and Scoles - he also sees Clev as a new Scholes......maybe never that great (ie, zizou might not praise him)....
We probably wont see who Cleverley is as a player for a few years. Right now, he's got some good tools but I don't think he'll be anything like Carrick or Hargreaves. I think we'll see elements of Scholes in him, like his ghosting into the box and one or two clever turns out of trouble, but he really is his own player. Aside from all the technical things and possession oriented play from him, I thought his impressive quality was the appetite and aptitude for defending. Sometimes he sat deep, other times he pressed. He also tackled well. There's a midfielder he reminds me of, but it would be blasphemy for me to even type that name.
I agree about his appetite; he was definitely hungry. He also showed us what energy married to technical ability can do for our midfield.
He's kind of a mix, got technical ability and understanding to go with an engine and drive. I am hoping he can maximize his tools, could be very very useful.
He said that growing up his idol was Becks, and that he always tried to watchs Becks, Scholesy, and even mentioned Lampard and Xavi as players he watches to learn from. I gotta say, not just because I met him and had a chat with him, he really does look like a top player and the nicest guy! Patty said as well that Clev has a good shot at making it here, and the fact that he was given the full 90 vs Barca and rose up to the challenge, preseason or not (this was not a friendly game), seems to think that Sir Alex has very high hopes for him.
Well, I think that Cleverly's play versus a team like ours (which was essentially at Arsenal levels yesterday) its good to see his energy, ball movement, ability to keep the ball under pressure, but I still don't see Fergie trusting him long term. It would take an injury crisis to make him Carrick's partner
He'll definitely have the chance to play in rotation but given his preseason play in comparison to Ando, at worst he's on even terms. Giggs won't play too many minutes. I think he will be used as an impact sub and in big games. But if we start Carrick for most matches, his partner should rotate a bit. Fletcher has had no preseason so he wont play at the start. The scenario seems to be Carrick + Giggs/Ando/Clev I think Cleverley also stands a chance to play in some games when Carrick is rested/unavailable too.
The good news is Euro 2012 qualifying occurs this year, so players will be injured, knackered and everything else