Darron Gibson

[tetsujin1979]

Shape, shape, shape for Trap.
given what came before it, is that such a bad thing?

[Junior]

Ah but would we? That would be to suggest (I think) that Gibson follows Traps instruction to the letter and that is why he is more...shall we say...laid back in his approach? If Trap would be to instruct his CM pairing to close, harry, tackle higher up the pitch, Im not convinced we'd see much difference in Gibsons overall game, more likely Trap would have him on the bench for not being the right player for his system.... Perhaps this current system does suit Gibson afterall!! :)

[SkStu]

given what came before it, is that such a bad thing?

did i say it was Tets? Not every post is a go at your mighty leader.

[paul_oshea]

raaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREY06TiwF7F4C5kaJLzosRbpZavzobX R1JeODaPL_hDxLnqobRvkha8PWg

[mark12345]

Well I work Monday-Sunday so I hope you won't mind me calling you a waster :D

Are you a would worker?

[Charlie Darwin]

Gibson is putting on a masterclass in passing at the moment v Crawley.

[SkStu]

keyword = Crawley

[Stuttgart88]

Cheer up Stu, at least he's not looking anonymous against Crawley :)

[SkStu]

dont you dare try and drag me out of my permanent state of melancholy/realism.

heres some half time entertainment for you all... arrested, no less! Those Crawley fans are a bit mental though in fairness!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUUcAe8pCBQ

http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/sx7Q9fWu0pPb5iLRAfqL-dQ/view.m?id=15&gid=football/2011/feb/15/crawley-fan-manchester-united-munich&cat=football

[Jicked]

The best I've ever seen Darron Gibson play by some distance, his distribution has been first class even if it is non-league opposition, if he's able to pick passes like that in training its no wonder a guy like Ferguson has rated him so highly. Promising.

[Sullivinho]

For those looking to catch the second half, it's on ITV. Whack this lot into the 'Add Channels' menu on the nearest Sky Digital box:

Frequency: 10.758
Polarisation: V
Symbol Rate: 22
FEC: 5/6

[Fergie's Son]

Dreadful first touch in the bos there. Come on Darron, belt one in!

[tricky_colour]

Yep he looks in a different league from most of the Crawley players :p

[Stuttgart88]

He certainly look a cut above most of them out there. It just isn't happening at all for Rooney in open play, world class goals notwithstanding :) O'Shea looked like he was playing in the Celtic Cup.

[Noelys Guitar]

I must have been watching a different game. He played a couple of excellent passes in the first half but in the second half he was woeful. Crawley dominated midfield for most of the second half and Gibson disappeared. Stewart Houston the co-commentator on Fox slated Gibson (never put in a challenge)and Rooney (general rubbish play) for their performances and rightly so.

[Colbert Report]

Another toothless performance from a disgraceful excuse of a professional footballer. What a joker. Manchester United barely scrape by a non-league side at Old Trafford, they were lucky not to surrender the win right at the end there. Gibson clearly not suited for Premiership football.

[Sullivinho]

He played a couple of excellent passes in the first half but in the second half he was woeful.

Agreed. They were poor as a whole in the second but Gibson's anonymity was shocking.

[Stuttgart88]

Anonymity? That's nonsense. He showed a lot and gave lots of give-and-goes, took lots of hard passes without giving the ball away (he did - twice, three times?) and I'd say completed more passes than anyone on the pitch. I watched the second half looking for excuses to criticise Gibson but found few. The best bit of skill in the game was his - taking a difficult pass, turning on a sixpence and then overhitting a through ball for Rooney.

Most of his teammates were awful. That Bebe guy was off the pace, Obertan showed some pace but little else and Carrick did some tidying up in front of the back 4 but not a huge amount else. Rafael was awful.

He doesn't dive into tackles but covers the ground and made players play around him. Gibson was one of only a handful of MUFC players to take any credit for his performance.

CR's synopsis of his performance is just pure BS.

[SkStu]

i only saw the first half and he was very good but it was fcking Crawley Town.

[Stuttgart88]

What does a central midfielder do when he gets the ball? Usually pass it to forwards or wide players. These were rubbish for United today. Gibson did what he could but there was so much dross on display from United today you can't seriously single out Gibson. He drew criticism from the crowd for miscontrolling the ball on the edge of the box but he was in prime shooting position and was given a rubbish pass.

I'm not saying Gibson is good enough to play for a team that is likely to win the EPL and has ambitions to win the CL, but some of the criticism is ridiculously over the top. He was on the ball plenty in the second half. I personally prefer to see midfielders pass the ball rather than raise cheers for wild challenges.

[SkStu]

i agree with you Stutts and also i'd doubt that CR even saw the game. Hardly an in-depth analysis of either Gibson's or United's display.

[Noelys Guitar]

Who said anything about wild challenges? I'm talking about any challenge. A tackle. True United as a team played poorly (especially in the second half). But Gibson offered nothing in the second half against a non-league team. He was poor against Southampton (taken off) and poor against Blackpool (taken off). Houston's exact words "this guy does not like to defend". What axe has he to grind?

[Sullivinho]

Anonymity? That's nonsense. He showed a lot and gave lots of give-and-goes, took lots of hard passes without giving the ball away (he did - twice, three times?) and I'd say completed more passes than anyone on the pitch. I watched the second half looking for excuses to criticise Gibson but found few. The best bit of skill in the game was his - taking a difficult pass, turning on a sixpence and then overhitting a through ball for Rooney.

Most of his teammates were awful. That Bebe guy was off the pace, Obertan showed some pace but little else and Carrick did some tidying up in front of the back 4 but not a huge amount else. Rafael was awful.

He doesn't dive into tackles but covers the ground and made players play around him. Gibson was one of only a handful of MUFC players to take any credit for his performance.

CR's synopsis of his performance is just pure BS.


What does a central midfielder do when he gets the ball? Usually pass it to forwards or wide players. These were rubbish for United today. Gibson did what he could but there was so much dross on display from United today you can't seriously single out Gibson. He drew criticism from the crowd for miscontrolling the ball on the edge of the box but he was in prime shooting position and was given a rubbish pass.

I'm not saying Gibson is good enough to play for a team that is likely to win the EPL and has ambitions to win the CL, but some of the criticism is ridiculously over the top. He was on the ball plenty in the second half. I personally prefer to see midfielders pass the ball rather than raise cheers for wild challenges.

That reads like apologist spin to me. The emboldened sections I find especially overstated. Different strokes they say.

I completely agree there was a surplus of dross on display (you've been equally generous to Obertan and Bebe) but in fairness, this is a Darron Gibson thread so he's likely to be singled out.

[Charlie Darwin]

United were outnumbered in midfield in the second half but I didn't think either Gibson or Carrick did anything particularly bad. It was a terrible game to watch.

[tetsujin1979]

I wouldn't slate him for United's performance when the team in general were poor against Crawley, and were nearly made to pay late on, but Gibson was the stand out player in midfield in the first half, and was let down by the players around him in the second. Is it his fault if Bebe's positioning and lack of workrate made it impossible to pass to him? Carrick isn't noted for his tackling ability either, so why not slate him?
Gibson did what we know he can do well, pick a decent pass (got the assist on Brown's goal) and shoot from distance. He didn't do what we know he can't do anyway, i.e. tackle.

[Noelys Guitar]

I wouldn't slate him for United's performance when the team in general were poor against Crawley, and were nearly made to pay late on, but Gibson was the stand out player in midfield in the first half, and was let down by the players around him in the second. Is it his fault if Bebe's positioning and lack of workrate made it impossible to pass to him? Carrick isn't noted for his tackling ability either, so why not slate him?
Gibson did what we know he can do well, pick a decent pass (got the assist on Brown's goal) and shoot from distance. He didn't do what we know he can't do anyway, i.e. tackle.

This is a Gibson thread not a Carrick thread. And it is laughable to suggest Bebe's lack of effort and positioning made Gibson look bad. So who made him look bad against Southampton and Blackpool?

[Colbert Report]

How many of you still think he'll turn into the next John O'Shea? The next Kieran Richardson more like.

[gilberto_eire]

How many of you still think he'll turn into the next John O'Shea? The next Kieran Richardson more like.

Consistent performer for a premiership side?..... wouldn't be bad would it... or did you think Kieran Richardson had faded away(like Luke Chadwick etc....)?

[Colbert Report]

Consistent performer for a premiership side?..... wouldn't be bad would it... or did you think Kieran Richardson had faded away(like Luke Chadwick etc....)?

Yeah, I think Gibson could be a consistent performer for a mid to lower table side if he moves this summer. One more year at Old Trafford and he'll be lucky to be playing in the Championship five years from now. I'm very troubled by his lack of ambition.

[Stuttgart88]

That reads like apologist spin to me. The emboldened sections I find especially overstated. Different strokes they say.

I completely agree there was a surplus of dross on display (you've been equally generous to Obertan and Bebe) but in fairness, this is a Darron Gibson thread so he's likely to be singled out.No apologist spin. The criticism was that he was anonymous. He got on the ball plenty of times and used it well, but with just about every other attacking player not contributing much Gibson was on a hiding to nothing.

"a disgraceful excuse of a professional footballer. What a joker" is not ridiculously over the top? Different strokes indeeed.

Come on Noely.

Stuart Houston. George Graham's right hand man for a decade. We all know how he liked the game played. Old school British "get stuck in" football. Man United are a bit above that these days. I'd watch Gibson all day long over David Hillier, Ian Selley, Stephen Morrow, Martin Hayes and Ian Allinson.

I don't care how he played against Blackpool or Southampton. I didn't see those games so can't comment.

[Charlie Darwin]

I just don't get the British obsession with tackling. The Crawley midfield created nothing all game - Carrick and Gibson did their job. Everything Crawley did came down the flanks and 90% of it was in the last 15 minutes when there were two players playing out of position. The only valid criticism that's been given so far is that he didn't offer much going forward in the second half.

[Yard of Pace]

I wouldn't slate him for United's performance when the team in general were poor against Crawley, and were nearly made to pay late on, but Gibson was the stand out player in midfield in the first half, and was let down by the players around him in the second. Is it his fault if Bebe's positioning and lack of workrate made it impossible to pass to him? Carrick isn't noted for his tackling ability either, so why not slate him?
Gibson did what we know he can do well, pick a decent pass (got the assist on Brown's goal) and shoot from distance. He didn't do what we know he can't do anyway, i.e. tackle.

Isn't a bit odd then that Trap has given him so many chances in midfield??? When it's considered that he won't try Andy Reid, Wes Hoolahan and that people say "McCarthy doesn't fit Trap's system" because those players aren't defensive enough.

[Stuttgart88]

The similarities between Gibson and Potter actually occurred to me over the weekend. I hope Darron's promise doesn't fade as quickly.

I think Stephen McPhail may be a closer comparison. Elegant and comfortable on the ball, good touch, good vision but lacking urgency and the ability to get a grip on a game. Yesterday I thought Gibson played well but his effectiveness was blunted by the performances of those around him. A player with more of a presence might have been able to get more out of them. That's a personality / natural leadership thing though, not ability.

I'm not going to trawl through this thread, but as far as I can recall my first meaningful post on this thread was that Gibson looks to have a lot in his locker but seems happy to let his more senior colleagues take responsibility. I still think this, although yesterday he looked to be on the ball a lot more and wasn't content for others to have it instead. He protects the ball brilliantly when receiving it under pressure. I seem to be the only one here who appreciates that.

Charlie D was right to point out that Crawley attacked down the flanks yesterday where Rafael and O'Shea were both poor.

[osarusan]

Gibson did what we know he can do well, pick a decent pass (got the assist on Brown's goal) and shoot from distance. He didn't do what we know he can't do anyway, i.e. tackle.
I'd agree with this, but the issue for me is that I'm not sure he does enough of what he does well to make up for what he doesn't do well / at all.

[Noelys Guitar]

I think Stephen McPhail may be a closer comparison. Elegant and comfortable on the ball, good touch, good vision but lacking urgency and the ability to get a grip on a game. Yesterday I thought Gibson played well but his effectiveness was blunted by the performances of those around him. A player with more of a presence might have been able to get more out of them. That's a personality / natural leadership thing though, not ability.

I'm not going to trawl through this thread, but as far as I can recall my first meaningful post on this thread was that Gibson looks to have a lot in his locker but seems happy to let his more senior colleagues take responsibility. I still think this, although yesterday he looked to be on the ball a lot more and wasn't content for others to have it instead. He protects the ball brilliantly when receiving it under pressure. I seem to be the only one here who appreciates that.

Charlie D was right to point out that Crawley attacked down the flanks yesterday where Rafael and O'Shea were both poor.

Rafael was taken off early in the second half. And Crawley clearly played through the middle to get the ball to their wingers. They ball was not moved from keeper to full back to winger. Gibson went missing against a non-league team and that is not good enough. If he put in a performance like yesterdays against Macedonia (if selected) we would be in real trouble.

[osarusan]

And Crawley clearly played through the middle to get the ball to their wingers. They ball was not moved from keeper to full back to winger. Gibson went missing against a non-league team and that is not good enough.

It's true that the ball was played through the middle before being moved wide, but Gibson was between them and the goal as the ball was moved wide. I don't think their moving the ball wide had as much to do with Gibson's defence as their plan to loft crosses into the box, and wide positions being a better place to cross from.

[Stuttgart88]

I don't think Gibson went missing at all. In fact I've rarely seen him show for the ball as much as he did yesterday - which is what I would expect against inferior opposition. I'm not bigging him up, but I thought he was the most technically accomplished player on show among a relatively poor bunch. United struggled to get a grip on that game late on but that has to be a collective failure not the indiviudual responsibilty of Gibson. In the second half of the second half United dropped deeper. He shielded the back 4 adequately with Carrick. Crawley's only chances that I recall came from corners and crosses.

[seanfhear]

Darron saw and completed some pass's yesterday that most players would not see or even complete if they did see them.
I am only going by the highlights but he certainly had a good first half yesterday. He showed that he had vision that you either have or hav'nt. Its very hard/impossible to teach it.
This part of his game was very encouraging. I still think he needs to be playing in more real games regularly. Its debatable if that will happen for him at Utd. Generally when players leave utd for not being quite good enough they seem to slip down the leagues further that would be expected !

[SwanVsDalton]

Sounds a bit like the criticism he received in his early Ireland games - anonymous/didn't put in a challenge vs protected the back four well and held his position well. I leaned to the latter then and I do now - Crawley didn't penetrate through the middle from what I saw and he was the most effective Utd player when on the ball. Decent performer in an otherwise woeful Utd team.

As Stutts said, his ability to protect the ball and willingness to get on the thing (which he doesn't always do) was a pleasure to see.

[Charlie Darwin]

Good news for Darron - Anderson's out for two months.

[ofjames]

Starts tonight away to marseille in the champions league. So does O'Shea

[Charlie Darwin]

It's a big call by Ferguson, leaving Scholes on the bench with Giggs also out. Let's hope he can seize his opportunity.

[Stuttgart88]

Gibson is being punished by Ferguson for being anonymous against a non-league team :)

Big night for him. I hope his agent is yelling in his ears to be assertive and look for the ball. And put in the odd tackle to shut a few people up.

[geysir]

That's 2 games in less than 4 or 5 days for Darron. This is a big game for him. His biggest so far?
I was looking forward to Inter v Bayern. Now I have what passes for a dilemma.

[Charlie Darwin]

Looks very confident and focussed in the pre-match line up. Probably visualising all the tackles he's not going to make.

[Noelys Guitar]

No doubt about it. Big vote of confidence from Ferguson. Lets hope does himself proud.

[seanfhear]

It will be interesting to see if he does the defensive work tonight.

[Sullivinho]

It will be interesting to see if he does the defensive work tonight.

There's a two-footed lunge in him, I'm sure of it.

[Stuttgart88]

I'm listening on the radio. He has been anonymous.

[bohsRap]

I'm listening on the radio. He has been anonymous.

He's been good so far. Some nice passes and his touch has been solid. Playing in a much more advanced role than Carrick.