The one way I can see him slotting into eleven is if Pogba stays on the left and Bruno adapts to a holding role more on the right of the midfield. Much of how United play will have to revolve around Donny's play if that happens. It might work, but Bruno won't be as productive and as key to United as he is now. I think with Cristiano and Sancho at the club, that's the case no matter what for either him or Pogba. The problem is United might remain a little too soft through the middle when defending. Come January, it might be better to find the right partner for Donny and Bruno inside a flat three rather than a pivot for Pogba. McTominay and Fred are not bad options in truth, but it would be nice to have a top player here.
Donny's agent is one of the few that protects their players. I actually like his perspective honest and transparent. The ball is in Ole's court.
Were ********ing Donny! What a surprise. All that bullshit about Sancho unlocking him? ******** all that. ..£40mil down the drain. Oh and @MizzouMUFC his own agent addressed him as a 10. Please don't die on that hill.
Realistically and I am not being prideful about it, this board since 2004 has probably watched more football than the majority of agents, coaches and managers. Seriously. So yes @MizzouMUFC will die on that hill, he is more knowledgeable and has experience in football than the agent.
Donny's agent addressed the 10 spot because that is the position of opportunity for Everton (having specifically namechecked James and Sigurdsson and their respective predicaments at the club). They're pretty much covered elsewhere (at the 8 especially). It was not to say that is the only position he can play because it clearly is not. As referenced previously before, all one needs to do is watch where he was primarily deployed for Ajax in his last season at the club. Most definitely was not at the 10/ACM spot the majority of the time. With that being said, I'm starting to believe this is not going to have the outcome many of us, would hope for. That is unless something unforeseen drastically changes Ole's thinking and opens legit opportunities for Donny. I do not want him to leave personally, but if nothing has really changed by January and the end of the season max (if we still have him), perhaps the best solution for all concerned is to let him go, even if we're likely to lose money on any sale at this juncture. Especially if that insures the arrival of a quality 6 (which is a need that probably will not be going away this season). Looking back though, perhaps it would not have been the worst idea to let him go on loan to a club like Everton: that train has sailed now unfortunately. Will still hope for the best, but legitimately preparing for the alternative (the way things are going currently at least)...
This is always why i will support players being selfish, over a club. Donny has wasted 1 whole year of his career.
Excellent interview. It's often spoken how we need good characters on the team and tbf, the mental makeup of the squad has shot up incredibly with some of the acquisitions that were made this summer. Donny really seems like one of the good ones also: as stated, very enjoyable interview. Would be gutting to see him go, especially if he really was never given a proper chance...
The majority of agents are morons that don't know shit about the game. They don't need tactical knowledge to be successful. That's like saying the janitor at OT knows more about the game than one of us because he works for the club. Get outta here with that bullshit. Pogba has played LW for us a ton the past year. Does that make him a winger? No, it means he's good at football and understands the game has has skills transferable to other positions. Same for Donny. He works as a 10 because he understand the game and what is needed of him there. But his natural skills lend themselves to an 8 better than a 10.
The annoying thing is that this is so, so close. It’s just the numbers that are the wrong way round. I do hope Donny can learn to play the 8 though, as Ander did. Hence my own clamour after one good game at 8 with Matic in preseason.
This is also so, so close. What you meant to say was...Donny had a good preseason game at the 8 DESPITE Matic being his partner.
Actually re reading that interview it Actually reads as if he see's Pogba (in the pivot) as his challenge. Tbh, just play him so we can move Pogba back to an attacking position.
Matic is not the reason for anything positive ever. He makes life harder for anyone paired with him. He covers zero ground, takes an hour to collect the ball and make a decision, can't tackle because he's possibly the least mobile midfielder in the league, and when attacked he's either easily bypassed or he drops into defence and tries to hide between the CBs.
I think VdB is quite aggressive to be a conventional 8. If you look at his statistical profile two things that stand out are that he's in the 98th percentile among MFs for touches in the opponents penalty area, and in the 96th percentile for progressive passes received. Long story short, he likes to get forward both on and off the ball, it's a natural part of his game and he does not perform a lot of defensive actions. All of that makes him an iffy choice for a traditional pivot. That said, I do think he can play 8 provided the team is tactically well set up to account for it. I think Pogba playing LW who naturally tucks in more and supports in MF provides us an opportunity to think about the rest of the shape more dynamically, and if you ask PP to tuck in even more while the RW plays higher you can get to a system that is a hybrid between our current 4231 and a 442 diamond. In that kind of setup I think Donny could be very effective playing a role that's a fusion between a traditional pivot and the runner on the right side of the diamond. That kind of plan requires both detailed planning and good tactical understanding among the players on the field; it's the kind of setup Pep goes for often but we have not done much of that under Ole.
Just saw this on FB. Transcript of a discussion between the gaffer and Beek: ‘Michael Carrick will be starting on Saturday. But if he gets injured, you’re definitely the next in line after Hannibal, Phil Jones, Bryan Robson and Doris from the canteen’
I don't think I've ever been as pissed off at a managers usage of a player than I am with VdB. Bringing on Fred instead of VdB yesterday was the last straw.
Why the hell would you bring VdB at the end there? Fred came on to play left back. Telles was on a yellow card and clearly getting tired and we needed someone who could press up high (even Fred's gambling was fine at this point, Ole clearly was trying to win it at the end) and also able to cross from left wing (it was Fred's cross that eventually led to the goal). VdB could've started the game instead of Sancho or subbed in for either Sancho or Pogba earlier in the second half, but subbing him on at the end would've made absolutely no sense.
So you think bringing Fred in at LB is a good offensive sub when chasing points? Good to know. Probably much better than bringing on someone who thrives on creating space for others, make smart offensive runs, and keeps the ball moving. If Telles needed to go off late, move to a 352 or shift one of the more defensive mids like McT to LB. But my points isnt specific to this game, this was just another example. Ole refuses to use VdB. Its not like Donny has been bad and is now in the doghouse. Hes been shunned for no reason other than Ole doesnt understand him and prefers inferior players.
@MizzouMUFC It's counter-intuitive, but Fred was a fresh pair of legs with a lot of energy to burn. He was played to win back possession in Villarreal's end. That way United could stay on the front foot and prevent Villarreal from playing their way out. There's a logic to it and it did work in the end. That said, if we had a manager like Johan Cruyff, you can bet your top dollar Donny would be playing a central role in a 4-3-3. United would press very high up the park from the start and look to keep the possession with a lot of short passes rather than attempt so many long balls. A United that was setup like that would have been more dominant and I don't think Villarreal would have looked anywhere nearly as threatening despite the fact United were missing so many first choice options at the back.
I get what you're saying but I hate this argument for Fred. This whole lots of energy thing doesn't cut it. Running around aimlessly only benefits the team so much, especially when we are pressing for a goal. When it comes to build up, chance creation, intelligent movement, etc. Fred has none. And these are all areas where Donny is excellent.
MEN has a fan theory as to why Ole won't play Donny. Donnys first goal was against Molde when Ole was coaching them. Lol