Have you ever read one little sentence that just makes your blood boil? Well I've read a couple from F365's Nick Miller in the past (eg. when he said United's 2-0 win in Rome was more impressive then Arsenal's in Milan) and I read another one last night when he wrote that 'Anderson is still to add the goals that will make him a complete midfielder'.
Now I must admit I do like most of Miller's blog entries and such, but it seems that when he writes about United he just goes into hyperbole mode. Of course maybe the fact that I truly despise Man Utd makes rational statements about them seem like exaggerative nonsense to me, but I'd like to think not.
For example, I can fully agree that United were the far superior team last night, though of course only an idiot would say otherwise. I can agree with everyone in praising the magnificence of Paul Scholes. I can compliment the United defense on their unrivalled stinginess, and I can appreciate the work rate and skill of one Carlos Tevez.
What I can't do however is agree that all Anderson has to do is start scoring goals to be labelled a 'complete midfielder'. And what I certainly can't do is agree with Fantasy Football and give Rooney the 3 bonus points (I have him on my team, and man do I feel guilty about getting those extra points).
The overall point Miller makes is no doubt correct. For all United's possession, they created very few chances. In fact Rooney's spin and shot in the first half is all I can recall in terms of real attacking threat. Even their goal came from a lucky deflection off Darren Fletcher (does he score any other type of goal?). Therefore, they need a striker on top of the return of the most selfish non-winger known to man. This much I definitely agree with.
But that one little statement about Anderson is just way off in my opinion. You can't just say 'if X adds goals then he will be the complete midfielder'. I mean what next? If Mascherano adds goals then he will be the complete midfielder? Nobody in their right mind would say such a thing, because they know Mascherano is virtually incapable of finding the net. And besides, that's not his job. His job is to stop other midfielders from finding the net, or making incisive passes. From what I've seen of Anderson, that's his job description too, or at least that's what should be his job description.
Yes he's Brasilian, but that doesn't mean he plays football like Ronaldinho. This is what the media told us upon his arrival, but they got it all wrong - Anderson's statistics from last season prove that. In 39 games, he made two assists and scored zero goals. Now he's young, it was his first season in a foreign country etc etc. But even so, those kind of numbers don't scream of a player who's just itching to bang in goals.
And what's more, Miller says that it's only the goals he's lacking. What about the assists, I ask? In a United team that scored truck loads of goals last season, Anderson managed to make the final pass in only 2 of them. That's more Mascherano than Scholes (whom some people are saying Anderson will eventually replace).
My point is, I have seen very little evidence to suggest that Anderson will be the creative heartbeat in the centre of United's midfield. The numbers back me up right now, and any notion that they will change is pure speculation and wishful thinking at the moment. They may of course improve, and Anderson may become what everyone is claiming him to be, but I think people (mainly United fans) are jumping the gun and are guilty of exaggeration, just like when they say that Ronaldo is the best player in the world, which as Lionel Messi continues to prove, is a myth (oh how I love being right).
You often hear from United fans about how Anderson had Gerrard and Fabregas in his pocket last year. There is an element of truth to this, but such a statement is not the full story. While I can't remember the Gerrard situation, the Fabregas one has been blown out of proportion. For one, it was a combination of Anderson and Hargreaves that stifled Fabregas at the Emirates. They didn't give him an inch, and thus he didn't create much from the middle (though lets not forget that he scored the first equalizer). However, it's not as if either or Anderson or Hargreaves ran the show and dictated the tempo and provided the creative spark for United.
No. What they did was prevent Fabregas from doing those things for Arsenal. Darren Fletcher or Phil Neville or Nicky Butt will tell you that you don't have to be a genius to do that job. You just have to work hard and have your wits about you. It's the job Mascherano does every week for Liverpool, and right now it's the job that Anderson seems most qualified for. I don't think he'll ever be the equivalent of Fabregas for United, but he could well be the Flamini, which is a hugely important role in the modern game.
And what's more, in the game against Arsenal at Old Trafford, Hleb was the best midfielder on display, with Fabregas just behind him. And this was a Fabregas who was dead on his feet, knackered after having being played into the ground by Wenger. Anderson was taken off at half time, but of course you don't hear about that from Red Devils fans. All you hear is that Anderson owned Gerrard and Fabregas, and apparently that's gospel. Not quite I'm afraid.
Anderson has a lot of potential, no question. The only pertinent question right now is potential for what? Miller thinks that it's the potential to be a midfield goalscorer (though he seems to forget that Anderson hasn't shown any kind of creative end product as of yet), while other United fans seem to think he's going to be better than Fabregas (which will imply he'll add those assists that he still lacks and control the flow of games a la Paul Scholes last night). Right now I firmly disagree, and as the numbers show and as his general play has shown, it's pure speculation to think otherwise.
A valuable player he is -- much moreso than Nani, whom I loathe -- but people need to stop running away with themseles and start appreciating Anderson for the kind of player he is right now - United's own Javier Mascherano. Will Anderson become a goalscorer? Will he start being a creative force? Maybe, but I don't think so, and for good reason. If he does however, then I won't mind being wrong, because the more players who play the game like Fabregas and Scholes the better for football in general.
Now I must admit I do like most of Miller's blog entries and such, but it seems that when he writes about United he just goes into hyperbole mode. Of course maybe the fact that I truly despise Man Utd makes rational statements about them seem like exaggerative nonsense to me, but I'd like to think not.
For example, I can fully agree that United were the far superior team last night, though of course only an idiot would say otherwise. I can agree with everyone in praising the magnificence of Paul Scholes. I can compliment the United defense on their unrivalled stinginess, and I can appreciate the work rate and skill of one Carlos Tevez.
What I can't do however is agree that all Anderson has to do is start scoring goals to be labelled a 'complete midfielder'. And what I certainly can't do is agree with Fantasy Football and give Rooney the 3 bonus points (I have him on my team, and man do I feel guilty about getting those extra points).
The overall point Miller makes is no doubt correct. For all United's possession, they created very few chances. In fact Rooney's spin and shot in the first half is all I can recall in terms of real attacking threat. Even their goal came from a lucky deflection off Darren Fletcher (does he score any other type of goal?). Therefore, they need a striker on top of the return of the most selfish non-winger known to man. This much I definitely agree with.
But that one little statement about Anderson is just way off in my opinion. You can't just say 'if X adds goals then he will be the complete midfielder'. I mean what next? If Mascherano adds goals then he will be the complete midfielder? Nobody in their right mind would say such a thing, because they know Mascherano is virtually incapable of finding the net. And besides, that's not his job. His job is to stop other midfielders from finding the net, or making incisive passes. From what I've seen of Anderson, that's his job description too, or at least that's what should be his job description.
Yes he's Brasilian, but that doesn't mean he plays football like Ronaldinho. This is what the media told us upon his arrival, but they got it all wrong - Anderson's statistics from last season prove that. In 39 games, he made two assists and scored zero goals. Now he's young, it was his first season in a foreign country etc etc. But even so, those kind of numbers don't scream of a player who's just itching to bang in goals.
And what's more, Miller says that it's only the goals he's lacking. What about the assists, I ask? In a United team that scored truck loads of goals last season, Anderson managed to make the final pass in only 2 of them. That's more Mascherano than Scholes (whom some people are saying Anderson will eventually replace).
My point is, I have seen very little evidence to suggest that Anderson will be the creative heartbeat in the centre of United's midfield. The numbers back me up right now, and any notion that they will change is pure speculation and wishful thinking at the moment. They may of course improve, and Anderson may become what everyone is claiming him to be, but I think people (mainly United fans) are jumping the gun and are guilty of exaggeration, just like when they say that Ronaldo is the best player in the world, which as Lionel Messi continues to prove, is a myth (oh how I love being right).
You often hear from United fans about how Anderson had Gerrard and Fabregas in his pocket last year. There is an element of truth to this, but such a statement is not the full story. While I can't remember the Gerrard situation, the Fabregas one has been blown out of proportion. For one, it was a combination of Anderson and Hargreaves that stifled Fabregas at the Emirates. They didn't give him an inch, and thus he didn't create much from the middle (though lets not forget that he scored the first equalizer). However, it's not as if either or Anderson or Hargreaves ran the show and dictated the tempo and provided the creative spark for United.
No. What they did was prevent Fabregas from doing those things for Arsenal. Darren Fletcher or Phil Neville or Nicky Butt will tell you that you don't have to be a genius to do that job. You just have to work hard and have your wits about you. It's the job Mascherano does every week for Liverpool, and right now it's the job that Anderson seems most qualified for. I don't think he'll ever be the equivalent of Fabregas for United, but he could well be the Flamini, which is a hugely important role in the modern game.
And what's more, in the game against Arsenal at Old Trafford, Hleb was the best midfielder on display, with Fabregas just behind him. And this was a Fabregas who was dead on his feet, knackered after having being played into the ground by Wenger. Anderson was taken off at half time, but of course you don't hear about that from Red Devils fans. All you hear is that Anderson owned Gerrard and Fabregas, and apparently that's gospel. Not quite I'm afraid.
Anderson has a lot of potential, no question. The only pertinent question right now is potential for what? Miller thinks that it's the potential to be a midfield goalscorer (though he seems to forget that Anderson hasn't shown any kind of creative end product as of yet), while other United fans seem to think he's going to be better than Fabregas (which will imply he'll add those assists that he still lacks and control the flow of games a la Paul Scholes last night). Right now I firmly disagree, and as the numbers show and as his general play has shown, it's pure speculation to think otherwise.
A valuable player he is -- much moreso than Nani, whom I loathe -- but people need to stop running away with themseles and start appreciating Anderson for the kind of player he is right now - United's own Javier Mascherano. Will Anderson become a goalscorer? Will he start being a creative force? Maybe, but I don't think so, and for good reason. If he does however, then I won't mind being wrong, because the more players who play the game like Fabregas and Scholes the better for football in general.
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