Prior to Liverpool's recent 1-0 victory, I remember thinking to myself that David Moyes' chosen XI is arguably the most creatively bereft Man United team in years. With Rooney out injured, the team that started the Anfield defeat looked woefully short of genuine attacking threat, and the fact that Robin Van Persie didn't have a sniff at goal for the entire game underlined the paucity of Utd's attacking threat. Reds legend Jan Molby was similarly unimpressed, and he's singled out one particular United player for criticism.
In a recent column for Eurosport, Molby - who memorably scored one of the goals of the decade against United in 1985 - observed:
"If you looked at their [Man United's] performance against Liverpool you could see where the problems lie and that is in midfield.
"Michael Carrick is a very good player in his role but I do not think Tom Cleverley is quite up to it at that level".
Carrick is a quality player, and he's proven that over a number of years, but Molby seems to be suggesting that Cleverley is not good enough for United. That may be a little harsh as he clearly has the ability to play in the Premier League, but how exactly does he enhance Moyes' fledgling team, and how on earth does he get in the England squad ahead of Jordan Henderson?
I've seen Cleverley play many times, but what he actually brings to United is anyone's guess. He fits the template of the standard, unimaginative English midfielder: all strength, stamina, huff-and-puff enthusiasm, but little genuine class or imagination on the ball. The same argument could be made about Henderson, but from what I've seen, Hendo offers more for club and country than Cleverely right now, and that was again evident in the recent LFC-Man Utd game at Anfield.
As the recent international double-header showed (again), the England team is populated with plodding, overpaid, overhyped 'stars' who can barely string two passes together when the going gets tough. Indeed, along with Cleverely - who Alex Ferguson once claimed is 'potenially the best midfield player in Britain' - it's an absolute joke that Danny Welbeck is an England regular, and seemingly preferred ahead of Daniel Sturridge.
Granted, Welbeck has scored a couple of goals for club and country recently, but as his pitiful club performance last season suggests, that's probably the exception, not the rule. And don't get me started on Welbeck's young player of the year nomination. What a farce.
Perhaps, predictably, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is (seemingly) a huge fan of Cleverely, and in a recent interview, he enthused:
"Tom is going to be a good player. He is playing for one of the biggest clubs in Europe and he has got a fantastic future. If he keeps learning the game, keeps trying to improve, he is going to be a top player."
The Steven Gerrard kiss of death strikes again! Cleverely is 24, and if he's 'not quite up to it' now, will he ever be? Hopefully, Henderson will continue playing well, and will, at some point, dislodge the Man United midfielder from the England team.
On a different note, the pedestrian nature of United's current team is a joy to behold, and this will hopefully lead to a long overdue downward spiral.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Man Utd fans are very welcome, but please stick to the comment policy. Any posts containing insults/sniping will be deleted without notice.
In a recent column for Eurosport, Molby - who memorably scored one of the goals of the decade against United in 1985 - observed:
"If you looked at their [Man United's] performance against Liverpool you could see where the problems lie and that is in midfield.
"Michael Carrick is a very good player in his role but I do not think Tom Cleverley is quite up to it at that level".
Carrick is a quality player, and he's proven that over a number of years, but Molby seems to be suggesting that Cleverley is not good enough for United. That may be a little harsh as he clearly has the ability to play in the Premier League, but how exactly does he enhance Moyes' fledgling team, and how on earth does he get in the England squad ahead of Jordan Henderson?
I've seen Cleverley play many times, but what he actually brings to United is anyone's guess. He fits the template of the standard, unimaginative English midfielder: all strength, stamina, huff-and-puff enthusiasm, but little genuine class or imagination on the ball. The same argument could be made about Henderson, but from what I've seen, Hendo offers more for club and country than Cleverely right now, and that was again evident in the recent LFC-Man Utd game at Anfield.
As the recent international double-header showed (again), the England team is populated with plodding, overpaid, overhyped 'stars' who can barely string two passes together when the going gets tough. Indeed, along with Cleverely - who Alex Ferguson once claimed is 'potenially the best midfield player in Britain' - it's an absolute joke that Danny Welbeck is an England regular, and seemingly preferred ahead of Daniel Sturridge.
Granted, Welbeck has scored a couple of goals for club and country recently, but as his pitiful club performance last season suggests, that's probably the exception, not the rule. And don't get me started on Welbeck's young player of the year nomination. What a farce.
Perhaps, predictably, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is (seemingly) a huge fan of Cleverely, and in a recent interview, he enthused:
"Tom is going to be a good player. He is playing for one of the biggest clubs in Europe and he has got a fantastic future. If he keeps learning the game, keeps trying to improve, he is going to be a top player."
The Steven Gerrard kiss of death strikes again! Cleverely is 24, and if he's 'not quite up to it' now, will he ever be? Hopefully, Henderson will continue playing well, and will, at some point, dislodge the Man United midfielder from the England team.
On a different note, the pedestrian nature of United's current team is a joy to behold, and this will hopefully lead to a long overdue downward spiral.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Man Utd fans are very welcome, but please stick to the comment policy. Any posts containing insults/sniping will be deleted without notice.
I wouldn't swap Cleverely for ANY of our midfielders.
ReplyDeleteCompetent, yes, hardworking , certainly, but unimaginative and limited as far as I am concerned. Typical of our so-called 'star players' for England
Utd fan here. I agree that there is nothing particularly special about Cleverley, he works hard but doesn't show much imagination and frustratingly always passes sideways or backwards. He is, however, a better player than Jordan Henderson, who has little strength or consistency and still plays like a youth team player. Criticism of Welbeck is also a bit harsh, 8 goals in 18 games for England is one of the best strike rates ever for an England player.
ReplyDeleteI think its harsh to say Gerrard has the kiss of death as he gets to play with these players in training and obviously its not the same as a match but players can perform better in that environment than on a match day and clearly sticks in gerrards mind
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, the Steven Gerrard kiss of death is a very real phenomenon :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.liverpool-kop.com/2013/02/steven-gerrard-kiss-of-death-strikes-again.html
Stevie g--Kiss of death..haha..i would not have him as a coach..he'd destroy the team..haha
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you should say that about TC.
ReplyDeleteDo you as a Utd fan feel that SAF kinda lost his Midas touch when it came to finding new players and turning them into World Class operators?
Ronaldo is one obvious one, but he seemed to be able to produce the likes of Vidic or Irwin as well as the more established stars like Rio
Agree with Liverpool & Man Utd fans on this one, except Cleverley better than Henderson, I think Henderson is evolving all the time and his commitment is second to none, another player Gerrard singled out for praise was Wiltshire, no animosity at all, but our press build people up to be better than they are, I don't see the qualities that the press are raving about?really! the biggest heap of exaggeratedness is Wallcott the guy goes on runs that end up achieving nothing except an elaborate dive, in which he tries to dupe the ref remonstrating with arms aloft and one must give him some credit because a lot of the officials give it to him (probably for artistic integrity) yeah know maybe he does have the kiss of death? may he continue to praise other teams players,
ReplyDeleteThey are different types of players , Henderson and Cleverley. Cleverley is regarded as a creative player while henderson's role is of a midfield runner who hustles opposition players off the ball and makes late runs in the box and ticks play over with simple passes while the creative brunt is borne by flair players like Coutinho and Suarez. Whether Cleverley can perform as well as Hendo in a less creative remains to be seen but at the moment Henderson is doing a much better job for LFC than what Cleverley is doing for Man Utd. Whether we have to blame the manager or the player is anyone's guess but certainly henderson is better now.
ReplyDeleteThats right Jan gee up Wilshire and cleverley and any other of our opponents, cleverley that. save their managers a team talk.
ReplyDeleteNitesh. get a grip. This is not facebook. Your comments reeks of facebook BS. If you don't want SG as a coach, then give your take on it. Not haha....
ReplyDeleteWoah, I thought he was younger than 24. I don't see what the hype is. I've never seen him do anything remarkable. He should be getting to a point now where he is starting to hit his prime, and if this is it, then I don't the he has got it in him to be a top player.
ReplyDeleteIs there any player left in this world that molby didnt say hes not good enough? I dont think so. So what kind of player molby was? True I was a child when he played and I heard he was great at times but was he a messi? No. So how can he slate the whole world every time he speaks, he also talks very negative about lfc for years, unhappy of everything, wonder whats wrong with the man...?!
ReplyDeleteit sound familiar with a regular over here
ReplyDeleteHa ha :D :P
ReplyDeleteI wrote that as a joke.. i dont know about his coaching skills.. And who knows he can be our next player coach or ambassador for the club,everyone on this site would love him to be part of club for years to come.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair to him, he says lots of positive things about players they just don't get reported on because you can't make a good story about good news.
ReplyDelete"frustratingly always passes sideways or backwards" Not quite right....this is a better description of Liverpool mid-fielders all of last year...and L'pool midfielders in the second half of games this year...but we're moving in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteFellaini will significantly reduce the time Cleverley has on the pitch. A lot of United fans advocate for an attacking signing in the mould of Modric indicating that Cleverley isn't first team quality, and at 24, for the league champions, he never will be. Henderson isn't 20 anymore and I don't think we will see massive improvements to his game, he's still a far more accomplished player than Cleverley. I actually think Henderson is one of our better players and I don't think he could be easily replaced in terms of finding a better solution in our midfield, at the moment I can't pick a team without Henderson in it unless it's ultra attacking and he's replaced with a proper winger.
ReplyDeleteAs for England selections, it's not that bad, the Australian team sucks(!)...There are a few players missing through injury and Welbeck is part of the future. Even if Henderson does replace Cleverley, Hendo is still criticised for lacking imagination on the ball so nothing will change in terms of style of play, especially with Hodgson in charge, even City are struggling with their 4-4-2, it's hard to string passes in a rigid system with little movement.
It's gonna be a fun year for United... a reality check for the overall quality of the squad. It was Fergie who get the best out of them. Moyles won't be able to replicate that IMO.
ReplyDeleteHenderson is 23. Not long turned but still. How much more growing as a player can he do? TBF I would say a lot. This could also be said for Cleverly though. One difference is that I have seen a marked improvement in Henderson over the last year. I have not seen much to suggest Cleverly is getting better.
ReplyDeleteI am not so sure Pete. I can see Moyes replicating Everton but with better strikers. Carrick is Gibson, Cleverly is Osman and Fellaini is........wait I'll check.
ReplyDeleteFellaini. Maybe doesn't need that creating player as much. But in saying that they do not have Baines, so maybe they will.
Also re Henderson, he has improved a great deal over the last year and I think can still do so. Its that stage in his career where he will be getting plenty of games and will be more confident and settled. He can still be learning. In fact I think players can continue to learn throughout their careers as their positions, abilities and limitations change. Henderson can still improve as he has the right attitude to do so.
I think Henderson has shown vast improvement to when he first came to Liverpool. I'm not however saying Henderson is a top player, he is good, but not much to get excited about.
ReplyDeleteI just thought Cleverly was a lot younger, and by the way he plays, it seems like it, i.e. he seems to play with an immaturity, that I wouldn't expect someone of 24 to have.
Again I don't think Cleverly is a bad player, I just don't think he will set the world alight.
When you compare him to someone like WIlshere (when he is at his best) there is a big difference, and Wilshere looks like he can be a top player. I think Wilshere, mostly, plays with a lot more maturity to his game, and he is still only 21.
I really don't know what's the fuss about him, he's really no that great. Now that scholes (truly great player) is retired with fergie, lets hope they start losing games which would make me really happy. They kinda overpaid for fellaini and lost face, but at least they got him cos he's strong can hold the ball and is dangerous at set pieces. He will definitely make them better. If kagawa doesn't get playing time, he should come to anfield lol!
ReplyDeletewe look a far better team with hendo in the team than out of it
ReplyDeletemaybe that why SAF left ...on paper utd haven't been that good for several years
ReplyDeleteI would say he has to say stuff like this though when asked about other national team mates also you'll never really hear a player say another player is bad
ReplyDeleteI think 2 in the league
ReplyDeletethis is BS again....... keep your gay humour for yourself ok?
ReplyDeleteWe dont care what u do @ nite but if u wana go gay do it on your FB wall. I dont wana see u comment here ever again! Hear me?
you obviously dont know a thing about Molby. Your comment makes me very angry and upset....
ReplyDeleteI think WIlshere, Rodwell and Henderson are the future real stars of England. Although, it may not happen as they do not play for Man Utd.
ReplyDeleteHe seriously have no idea, mouse should be on the mousepad. Jeez.
ReplyDeleteCarrick and Fellaini in the same team is like Lucas and Allen in the same team
ReplyDeleteI disagree, Carrick and Fellaini are different players. Fellaini proved in his last full season with Everton that he can be an attacking threat. If those two are in the middle United can have greater emphasis on their very traditional wide roles.
ReplyDeleteUnimaginative and LImited......... let me see.......... Poulsen. Cleverly suits Hodgson down to the ground.
ReplyDelete