Your current favourite United player

[mattbianco1]

In terms of individual squad members, how do others think this squad compares to 2011/12?

I've tried to match the players comparibly the best i can and have BOLDED the better player IMO.

Harry Maguire Harrison McGahey
Neill Collins
Matthew Lowton Craig Alcock
Steve Simonsen Mark Howard
Stephen Quinn Jamie Murphy#
Michael Doyle
Lee Williamson Ben Davies
Richard Cresswell Jose Baxter
Ched Evans Michael Higdon*
Kevin McDonald Stefan Scougall**
Jean-Francois Lescinel Bob Harris
Chris Porter
Ryan Flynn
Nick Montgomery James Wallace
Marcus Williams Jay McEveley
Matt Hill Andy Butler
Billy Clarke Marc McNulty***
Nathaniel Mendez-L Louis Reed****
Matt Phillips Jamal Campbell-Ryce
David McAllister Chris Basham

Stephen McGinn*****​

Notes:
* I've have compared Higdon to Evans as opposed to Cresswell because he is classed as our "main" striker. His attributes are similar to that of Cresswell though.
** I've gone Scougall, just because of potential. McDonald had a great 1st season. His 2nd was crap. I know he would fit nicely into our team now but, we've moved on.
*** McNulty, again because of potential. Clarke was instrumental in his short time hear setting up bags of goals (in a very attack minded side). I have seen him play against us a couple of times for Crawley and he didn't exactly impress like he did when on loan.
**** Gone Reed on potential.
***** McGinn - had nobody to compare him too.
# Murphy is one of the first names on the team sheet now. Quinn is probably the better player (no probably about it thinking about it) but despite them both playing Left Mid offered something totally different. Can't decide.

 

[TonyAgana]

I've tried to match the players comparibly the best i can and have BOLDED the better player IMO.

Great way of doing it Matt, thank you.

Can I take from that that you believe the two squads are at least comparable? I certainly do, and with your measure, I'd go further and say that even the examples where you've opted for the 11/12 counterparts, it's close. Maguire > McGahey for example, I've said already I think we've basically replaced Maguire with a player who is a year - 18 months behind him. Even Lowton > Alcock, I'd say full-back positions aren't as key to being the difference and even then, Alcock is a very, very good L1 replacement for what would've been (as would Brayford) a luxury.​

 

[Bladesway]

Porter.

 

[Torrix1889]

I don't have a current favourite player, I leave that to my 8 and 11 year old sons....players that are currently making an impact and I think we would struggle without are;

Doyle
Collins
Alcock
Davies
Howard

Plenty of competition in the creative midfield places and 2 from Scougall, Murphy, Flynn, Baxter and Wallace will be adequate in most circumstances.

Up front still concerns me greatly although a Baxter/McNulty combo would be interesting to see after a run of a few games.

The back 4 looks settled and despite Clough's desire for another defender I think the back 4 who played on Saturday are solid enough.

Despite putting Davies in the "impact" players list I think he is the biggest square peg in a round hole. You can't drop him at the moment, his set-pieces are generally good and he has won us several points already this year. However, his lack of pace is a problem and it stops Alcock being the player he can be. Alcock knows Davies will struggle to beat his man and instead of having a JCR type to fly down the wing, Alcock is forced to play the short ball to Davies or come inside and play square to Doyle or Wallace. Neither can Alcock go marauding forward on the overlap as again Davies hasn't got the pace to get back and cover.

As much as I like Davies I fear his place is probably under threat more than anyone else. Personally my ideal line up would be;

Howard

Alcock
MaGahey
Collins
McEveley

JCR
Doyle
Wallace
Murphy

Baxter
McNulty

 

[mattbianco1]

Great way of doing it Matt, thank you.

Can I take from that that you believe the two squads are at least comparable? I certainly do, and with your measure, I'd go further and say that even the examples where you've opted for the 11/12 counterparts, it's close. Maguire > McGahey for example, I've said already I think we've basically replaced Maguire with a player who is a year - 18 months behind him. Even Lowton > Alcock, I'd say full-back positions aren't as key to being the difference and even then, Alcock is a very, very good L1 replacement for what would've been (as would Brayford) a luxury.​

Yeah were not too different. Williamson and Quinn were massive losses obviously as they added goals as well as assists. Other than that we're compatible with the exception of Chedwyn who may be back anyway.

 

[stannyblade]

I don't have a current favourite player, I leave that to my 8 and 11 year old sons....players that are currently making an impact and I think we would struggle without are;

Doyle
Collins
Alcock
Davies
Howard

Plenty of competition in the creative midfield places and 2 from Scougall, Murphy, Flynn, Baxter and Wallace will be adequate in most circumstances.

Up front still concerns me greatly although a Baxter/McNulty combo would be interesting to see after a run of a few games.

The back 4 looks settled and despite Clough's desire for another defender I think the back 4 who played on Saturday are solid enough.

Despite putting Davies in the "impact" players list I think he is the biggest square peg in a round hole. You can't drop him at the moment, his set-pieces are generally good and he has won us several points already this year. However, his lack of pace is a problem and it stops Alcock being the player he can be. Alcock knows Davies will struggle to beat his man and instead of having a JCR type to fly down the wing, Alcock is forced to play the short ball to Davies or come inside and play square to Doyle or Wallace. Neither can Alcock go marauding forward on the overlap as again Davies hasn't got the pace to get back and cover.

As much as I like Davies I fear his place is probably under threat more than anyone else. Personally my ideal line up would be;

Howard

Alcock
MaGahey
Collins
McEveley

JCR
Doyle
Wallace
Murphy

Baxter
McNulty

Im still unsure about Magahey myself.

 

[TopBoy]

Wallace. In the few minutes I've seen of him the guy oozes class.

 

[Dec]

I think saying that Scougall is better than McDonald is extremely wishful thinking. Different types of players, mind.

 

[RedandWhite]

Baxter, his technical ability is far better than anyone else's, and so is his brain.

 

[Tynemouth Blade]

Harrison McGahey for me: this kids got some much raw talent, ok he makes a few ricks, but he's an athlete and looks more the part than Harry did at the same age (remember the lead boots tag?) and with Morgs mentoring him the kid can go all the way!
I haven't felt so excited about a young prospect (defender) since Kyle Walker and I said about both him and Jags that they'd go on an play for England!

And that's one of the reasons why I'm so keen to see some of the other young 'uns get a chance in the first team, because I believe we have some good young talent ready to make the breakthrough....

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

It's not long ago that you'd have struggled to pick out one special player (even just one with a bit of pace!) but we've got the pick of at least 5 now. Scougall, Murphy, Baxter, Wallace, JCR... Flynn on his day, Davies stands out for certain attributes, even Doyle can turn in a special performance.

In terms of individual squad members, how do others think this squad compares to 2011/12?

2011/12: (all players with more than 5 apps)

• Harry Maguire
• Neill Collins
• Matthew Lowton
• Steve Simonsen
• Stephen Quinn
• Michael Doyle
• Lee Williamson
• Richard Cresswell
• Ched Evans
• Kevin McDonald
• Jean-Francois Lescinel
• Chris Porter
• Ryan Flynn
• Nick Montgomery
• Marcus Williams
• Matt Hill
• Billy Clark
• Nathaniel Mendez-Laing
• Matt Phillips
• David McAllister

This season:

• Mark Howard
• Ben Davies
• Harrison McGahey
• Craig Alcock
• Neill Collins
• Michael Doyle
• Jamie Murphy
• Chris Basham
• Jay McEveley
• Jose Baxter
• Bob Harris
• Michael Higdon
• Marc McNulty
• Ryan Flynn
• Stefan Scougall
• Jamal Campbell-Ryce
• Louis Reed
• James Wallace
• Stephen McGinn
• Andy Butler
• Chris Porter

The 2011-12 team would wipe the floor with the current crop.

 

[TonyAgana]

The 2011-12 team would wipe the floor with the current crop.

What about without Ched?

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

What about without Ched?

I'd still say the 2011-12 team edges it. That team had goals coming out of their ears.

 

[TonyAgana]

I'd still say the 2011-12 team edges it. That team had goals coming out of their ears.

Indeed they did but I'd say a lot of that was down to a) confidence and b) Ched.

It's funny but from what I remember, the general opinion of the players was as follows...

• Harry Maguire - a bit green, prone to mistakes
• Neill Collins - "found his level" but much the same as now
• Matthew Lowton - Very good fullback
• Steve Simonsen - A liability, cost us many points
• Stephen Quinn - Elpiton? Had one good game in three? Probably harsh but he wasn't a match winner
• Michael Doyle - Poor
• Lee Williamson - Hot and cold but well capable of goals
• Richard Cresswell - Past his best but a reliable source of a dozen goals
• Ched Evans - The best player in League 1
• Kevin McDonald - Maestro
• Jean-Francois Lescinel - Classy fullback, had a mistake in him though
• Chris Porter - Chris Porter
• Ryan Flynn - Largely flattered to deceive, but weighed in with goals
• Nick Montgomery - didn't have a particularly important role any more
• Marcus Williams - Poor
• Matt Hill - Poor (before the crowd's endearment towards him)

and then not really enough appearances to matter, but...

• Billy Clark - Great partnership with Phillips, wished we could keep the pair
• Nathaniel Mendez-Laing - Looked promising but never came good
• Matt Phillips - see Clark
• David McAllister - who?

I'm not convinced they made up a better squad than we have now. The only stand out players for me were Ched, McDonald and Williamson. Put it this way, if we had pre-conviction Evans with this squad we'd be pissing goals and shitting points (in my opinion).

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Indeed they did but I'd say a lot of that was down to a) confidence and b) Ched.

It's funny but from what I remember, the general opinion of the players was as follows...

• Harry Maguire - a bit green, prone to mistakes
• Neill Collins - "found his level" but much the same as now
• Matthew Lowton - Very good fullback
• Steve Simonsen - A liability, cost us many points
• Stephen Quinn - Elpiton? Had one good game in three? Probably harsh but he wasn't a match winner
• Michael Doyle - Poor
• Lee Williamson - Hot and cold but well capable of goals
• Richard Cresswell - Past his best but a reliable source of a dozen goals
• Ched Evans - The best player in League 1
• Kevin McDonald - Maestro
• Jean-Francois Lescinel - Classy fullback, had a mistake in him though
• Chris Porter - Chris Porter
• Ryan Flynn - Largely flattered to deceive, but weighed in with goals
• Nick Montgomery - didn't have a particularly important role any more
• Marcus Williams - Poor
• Matt Hill - Poor (before the crowd's endearment towards him)

and then not really enough appearances to matter, but...

• Billy Clark - Great partnership with Phillips, wished we could keep the pair
• Nathaniel Mendez-Laing - Looked promising but never came good
• Matt Phillips - see Clark
• David McAllister - who?

I'm not convinced they made up a better squad than we have now. The only stand out players for me were Ched, McDonald and Williamson. Put it this way, if we had pre-conviction Evans with this squad we'd be pissing goals and shitting points (in my opinion).

Ched was definitely the linchpin without a doubt.

I think the reason we performed so poorly when he departed was because the confidence was shot to shit and the belief was gone. It was still a capable team.

 

[Nick Jansky]

Yes so did I, but he wasn't top class. He swore, he shocked, he died. He became something of a cult. It's 'cooler' to be a fan of Bill Hicks than Frankie Howerd, but that doesn't make him funnier, he wasn't.

Andy Kaufman was shite, before anyone starts.

And there you go again, passing off subjective views as facts. Deary me.

 

[On The Plus Side...]

Ben Davies
Top Goalscorer (4 goals)
Top Assist Maker (3 goals).

From RM/RB that is highly impressive (especially when you consider he is 33)

 

[Pinchy]

And there you go again, passing off subjective views as facts. Deary me.

Whereas your post about Hicks?....

 

[Grappler]

Ched was definitely the linchpin without a doubt.

I think the reason we performed so poorly when he departed was because the confidence was shot to shit and the belief was gone. It was still a capable team.

Agree with that, when Ched was playing, it didn't matter if we went one or even two down, because the whole team knew that if we could get the ball to Ched, anywhere near the box, chances were it would go in. Without him, that never happened. When you think of some of the goals he scored, back to the goalkeeper, two defenders on him, and he would turn on a sixpence and fire it into the net, or the long distance missiles. Maybe that was a one off year and maybe he could never repeat that form, but we all kmow if he had not missed the first 9 games and not missed the last few, he would have been on 40+ goals easily, would have been ahead of Jordan Rhodes without a doubt and the Blades would have gone up automatic.