Darron Gibson

[Gather round]

Even if he plays the poorest game of his young career thus far he'll still show more talent than Sammy Clingan and Damien Johnson combined, two lower division journeymen of the English game if ever there were

Come on YI, chill out man. DJ has played for many seasons in the Premiership, both with Birmingham and as a youngster at Blackburn. If he's a journeyman, it's a top division journeyman.

Clingan's career is more modest- this is his first season in D2. But many fans, self included, rate him as our best midfielder over the last two or three years, in our best team for at least a decade. He's made the step up well.


though somehow according to you they become International class for the sole reason that Northern Ireland are forced to cap them due to the absence of anyone better

In practice any NI-qualified player in the top two English Divisions or Scottish Prem is potentially 'international class' for us. The reality is that the smallest countries tend to have a limited player pool. For you, with more to choose from, you'd expect the 'qualifying standard' to be a bit higher, with more Prem players. Only one Irish player, Given, would likely get anywhere the big five European countries' squads. Does that mean everyone else is isn't international class?


By your "logic" all of San Marino's regular players are also International class and therefore Gibson wouldn't get near their team either

Er, you're the one talking up San Marino (whether because you genuinely think it's funny or confused them with Slovenia, I don't know).

San Marino are clearly the worst international side in Europe. Everyone else above the village country level should be able to beat them without breaking sweat, as we did twice.

[osarusan]

Anyway I think you have stated your point effectively on this issue many times so there seems to be some repetition.
That goes for everybody on this thread.

[geysir]

Come on YI, chill out man.
youngirish has only one temperature, even immune to cooling effects of exile.

I missed him:)

[paul_oshea]

youngirish has only one temperature, even immune to cooling effects of exile.

I missed him:)

I thought you were going to say immune to Global Warming ;)

[tetsujin1979]

Confirmed he will start in the League Cup final

[The Fly]

League Cup final just started 5 mins ago.
Gibson is playing in centre midfield alongside Scholes.

Good luck Darron!

[strangeirish]

League Cup final just started 5 mins ago.
Gibson is playing in centre midfield alongside Scholes.

Good luck Darron!
He just hit the bar with a cracking shot.

[eirebhoy]

A couple of good tackles and passes, A cracking shot just a few inches wide but overall not a great first half from him, certainly the last 20 minutes anyway.

[gilberto_eire]

He was pretty bad it has to be said!!

Every forward pass he gave went astray and he never increased his pace from walking speed, never seemed to want the ball!!

[Maroon 7]

Only watched a couple minutes of the match but I must have seen his best moments then. The cracking long range effort he hit and the pass through to Ronaldo right at the end when Ronaldo hit the post.

[paul_oshea]

he looked slow and i think he tired to be honest. He only hit about 2 balls astray, he did ok, but that was about it and was always going to be the first one to be subbed if changes were to be made that weren't necessary. He needs to get more stuck in. He seemed to be letting scholes take on too much work.

[shakermaker1982]

Very few players stood out in that game today. Anderson however was like a breath of fresh air when he came on. It's also very rare to see Evra get skinned that many times so it's a good job that Lennon cannot cross a ball!

Gibson did ok and put a steady shift in. He didn't look out of his depth and didn't shy away and I'm sure he'll have plenty of better games for Man Utd.

[eirebhoy]

Yeh he always seem to me that he's just doing his job and not trying to do that little bit more. I didn't like to see him standing or walking when a teammate is looking for a passing option. He should be making himself available all the time.

Sean McCaffrey:
"The thing with Darron is I don't think he realises how good he is.

But, you know, there's quite a difference in surviving in a top team and actually making an impact and I don't think Darron has done that yet. But when he realises that he's capable of making an impact, we're going to have some player on our hands, mark my words."

http://www.tribune.ie/sport/soccer/article/2009/mar/01/forward-march/

[geysir]

All he has to do is bring the impact of this goal celebration into his game

http://media.tribune.ie/site_media/photologue/photos/2009/Feb/28/cache/84805324001634_display.jpg

[elroy]

He is like JOSH in a sense in that he has quite a lazy style. He reminds me of Carrick a few years ago and look at Carrick now. Give the guy a chance. I think he needs to look for the ball a bit more and seemed willing to leave Scholes do most of the work with the ball but he rarely gave away the ball and certainly did not look out of depth against a decent Spurs midfield.

The difference between united and us is that Gibson had one of the best ever midfielders alongside him today whereas for us he is partnered with fellow novices.

[Stuttgart88]

Saw nearly all the game and think he was tidy enough but should be more assertive, both looking for the ball and when he has it. It looks like he's more concerned with avoiding errors than looking to be positive. One time in second half he actually took it on, carried the ball and took a shot with his left that was deflected wide. It was a pity that this was the only time. Scholes on the other hand had the confidence & willingness to add value where possible. I hope Gibson was taking notes.

Only other criticism is that on receiving the ball facing his own goal it seemed to take time for him to turn, if he even did. Scholes did the classic foot on top of the ball and swivel move nearly all the time.

[DeLorean]

he's more concerned with avoiding errors than looking to be positive

I think this is very true. He is clearly not a naturally confident player. There was one moment in particular where this was evident. Scholes had possession some time in the first half and Gibson was in a great position to receive the ball. Instead he signalled to Scholes to play the ball forward to one of the strikers when that ball was never really on. It was a big occasion for him yesterday and there were bound to be nerves, especially after one or two hairy moments like his mix up with Evans where he should have been more assertive and taken control of the situation. He needs regular game time to become more comfortable and allow him to play his natural game and it's difficult to see this coming at OT.

[EalingGreen]

Was at Wembley yesterday and Gibson was one of a handful of players I paid particular attention to.
I thought he started brightly enough, including a very good early shot, but he made a bad error around the quarter hour mark(?), where he stumbled and gave away possession, allowing Spurs to break through and necessitating a last ditch tackle by a MU defender to retrieve. Thereafter, I thought he was very poor (nerves?) for the rest of the half, probably giving away possession more than any other MU player.
Tbf, however, he was better in the second half, I suspect because Ferguson instructed him to keep it simple, since every time he got the ball, he just played it short to Scholes and Nani etc, to let them build the play. There was one late occasion where he burst forward and had a deflected shot, but it was no surprise when he was subbed after 90 mins, since I'm sure Ferguson wanted to win it in extra time, and Gibson was showing no sign of "hurting" Spurs.

So overall, if you want to take the "Glass half full" position, with more experience of the big time, he may develop into a very tidy player - he was certainly better e.g. than Welbeck, who was clearly out of his depth.

But if you are a "glass half empty" man, you'd say he still has to demonstrate that he has more to his game than mere competence. For example, he was clearly not so confident as Foster, or comfortable as Evans, even after the latter was moved out of position in extra time to replace O'Shea at RB.

The Jury is still Out for me.

Btw, there was a piece in yesterday's Sunday Times which supported my contention that despite getting game time with the senior team lately, Gibson is still "only" a Reserve/Second String player at OT, i.e. yet to be considered a genuine member of the first team squad.
The article was comparing the present MU team with the Treble Team of 1999, and concluded that whilst the First XI's are of v.similar quality, further down, the "Class of 2009" has much greater strength in depth.
They divided both teams into First XI, Second XI and Third XI, with the following being the 2009 assessments (4-4-2 formation):
First XI
Van der Sar

Brown
Vidic
Ferdinand
Evra

Ronaldo
Carrick
Fletcher
Giggs

Rooney
Berbatov

Second XI
Foster

Da Silva
Evans
Neville
O'Shea

Park
Scholes
Hargreaves
Anderson

Nani
Tevez

Third XI
Kusczak

Eckersley
Simpson (loan to Blackburn)
Cathcart (loan to Plymouth)
Fabio

Wellbeck
Gibson
Possebon
Tosic

Manucho (loan to Hull)
Campbell (loan to Spurs)

[ifk101]

I thought he started brightly enough, including a very good early shot, but he made a bad error around the quarter hour mark(?), where he stumbled and gave away possession,

I wouldn't call it an error as such because a lot of players were stumbling yesterday on that pitch for some reason. But I'd agree with you that it probably did unnerve him for the rest of the half.

But overall I thought he had a good game.

[DeLorean]

Ronaldo
Carrick
Fletcher
Giggs

Park
Scholes
Hargreaves
Anderson

I'd prefer the midfield from tier 2. Ronaldo for Park though!

[geysir]

I hope, after that penalty shoot out, that Shay invests in an iPod.

[DeLorean]

I hope, after that penalty shoot out, that Shay invests in an iPod.

Possibly his biggest (only?) weakness. Nearly always goes way too early.

[OwlsFan]

Got a 6 rating in the Daily Telegraph:

"An energetic performance from the young midfielder but too often he gave the ball away in vital areas"

[DeLorean]

Got a 6 rating in the Daily Telegraph:

"An energetic performance from the young midfielder but too often he gave the ball away in vital areas"

Twas far from energetic anyway. I'd probably agree with the 6 though (at best). Started brightly but faded would be a more suitable assessment I think.

[tricky_colour]

Twas far from energetic anyway. I'd probably agree with the 6 though (at best). Started brightly but faded would be a more suitable assessment I think.


Yes 6 indicates more of a "Started badly and got worse".

[Hibernian]

I think this is very true. He is clearly not a naturally confident player. There was one moment in particular where this was evident. Scholes had possession some time in the first half and Gibson was in a great position to receive the ball. Instead he signalled to Scholes to play the ball forward to one of the strikers when that ball was never really on. It was a big occasion for him yesterday and there were bound to be nerves, especially after one or two hairy moments like his mix up with Evans where he should have been more assertive and taken control of the situation. He needs regular game time to become more comfortable and allow him to play his natural game and it's difficult to see this coming at OT.

i was at the game yesterday and I remember that incident too and taught that it showed that he was nervous..

I taught he was average at best he seems to lack confidence yesterday to be fair it was big occasion for him must remember he hopefully has his best years still to come.

i still like see him get more time at united before I make decision on how good he is..

He far from united player (at moment) but hopefully he brings his game on another level which i think he has the talent for that.

[eirebhoy]

Yes 6 indicates more of a "Started badly and got worse".
6 out of 10 is an average performance. 7 would be slightly above average, 5 slightly below.

[geysir]

>5.5 in my leaving cert days, you were an honours student.

[paul_oshea]

ya but that was a hell of a long time ago, and a hell of a lot has changed now geysir ;) For a start its higher level and ordinary level ;) :D

[DeLorean]

Yes 6 indicates more of a "Started badly and got worse".

6 is an average enough performance. Started badly and got worse would surely be 4 or less.

[geysir]

ya but that was a hell of a long time ago, and a hell of a lot has changed now geysir. For a start its higher level and ordinary level ;) :D
I'm talking about the higher level back in the day
and the epl is the higher level :)

Darron is an honours candidate.

[third policeman]

He is like JOSH in a sense in that he has quite a lazy style. He reminds me of Carrick a few years ago and look at Carrick now. Give the guy a chance.

Spot on observation, but my worry is that players of this type sometimes dont fulfill their potential. Liam O'Brien was another physically imposing midfielder with good touch and a great passing range who never quite made it. More recently Darren Potter was regarded as an outstanding prospect at Liverpool, but seemed to lack the mentality to impose himself on a game and make an impact. I hope Gibson makes the step up, but it will be hard for him to be assertive when he is surrounded by players with big reputations.

[holidaysong]

Not sure if this has been posted before but it's a wee BBC Newsline piece on the eligibility row from a couple of days ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7919894.stm

[kingdomkerry]

Not sure if this has been posted before but it's a wee BBC Newsline piece on the eligibility row from a couple of days ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/n...nd/7919894.stm

Yeah there was a thread on this deleted already. Nothing new in it at all. Its the 3rd time at least that FIFA have confirmed this.

[Colbert Report]

The link isn't working.

[holidaysong]

Yeah there was a thread on this deleted already. Nothing new in it at all. Its the 3rd time at least that FIFA have confirmed this.

The NI media are determined to keep dragging it up though. I wish Blatter had said something more clear cut than he did.


The link isn't working.

It's working for me. It's a video, maybe that's the problem.

[kingdomkerry]

FIFA are expected to make very clear cut on 20th March.

Doubt it will be accepted in the unionist mentaility of the IFA though.

[holidaysong]

We'll see what happens then I guess.

[The Fly]

Manchester United play Fulham in the FA Cup at Craven Cottage tomorrow (sat). The match is on ITV1 with a 5.15pm kick off.
For anyone interested, I'd say there's a good chance that Gibson will play at some stage. He may even start - fingers crossed!

[Colbert Report]

The NI media are determined to keep dragging it up though. I wish Blatter had said something more clear cut than he did.



It's working for me. It's a video, maybe that's the problem.


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[The Fly]

Gibson is not in the squad for the match today against Fulham. Oh well........

[Stuttgart88]

Yeah, they're resting Ronaldo and Gibson ahead of the Inter game :)

[The Fly]

Gibson is on the bench for United tonight.

[Superhoops]

Gibson is on the bench for United tonight.
O'Shea might as well be!

[Razors left peg]

being linked with a move to Fulham
http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,2483_5112054,00.html

[The Bunk]

6 out of 10 is an average performance. 7 would be slightly above average, 5 slightly below.

Just like football manager. They start on a 6, play average and they stay on a 6. Play worse and they go below a 6......and so on lol

[The Fly]

Gibson will more than likely be on the bench against Aston Villa (Sunday 4pm).
I'll give an update when the match-day squads are announced.

[The Fly]

Gibson is on the bench for United against Villa (4pm) - just been announced.
Given United's injury problems, the bench is fairly lean so hopefully Gibson will get brought on at some stage.
In addition, John O'Shea starts at centre back.

[The Fly]

Gibson got on for the last 3/4 minutes.............. wayhay!

[rambler14]

Gibson got on for the last 3/4 minutes.............. wayhay!

What game were you watching?:confused: