Darron Gibson

[Junior]

I'd love to see what Paul Ince's statistics indicate now.

Remind me again what it was Ince said?



Say what you will about Gibson but he made it clear that he wanted to play for us. I wish McCarthy would do the same.

As has James on a number of occasions.

[Fergie's Son]

Not lately he hasn't, no. I sincerely hope I am wrong and he joins the squad for the Macedonia game. My guess is that he will be "injured".

[Closed Account]

What did Paul Ince say?

First you have to suspend belief, and accept that Ince has both written an article and published it online. Once you've done that, here it is....

http://paulincesnotebook.com/2011/02/02/darron-gibson-united-player/
The article centralises around United being more successful when Gibson is removed and Scholes is introduced.

The irony is, is that, were the same conditions and experiments taken now, Gibson would be on a par with every midfielder training in Carrington, Old and New. But thats not newsworthy. The main critiscism of Gibson from both Mancunians, Paddys(relax), Fergie and Trapattoni is that he's not mobile enough. Without the ball, Darron is a passenger. Not a big deal for the biggest team in the world as they have 70% possession but a big deal for an island of 4 million people regularly playing much larger populations.

Whilst Paul Ince mighnt't be happy with our boy from Derry, that's not an indication that he's a bad player. People expect too much from our Darron. Not every player on the pitch gets man of the match. Like a game of chess, every player has specific roles, and sometimes its the pawn who follows his role to the exact specifics, can be the difference between winning and losing.

[Junior]

The main critiscism of Gibson from both Mancunians, Paddys(relax), Fergie and Trapattoni is that he's not mobile enough. Without the ball, Darron is a passenger. Not a big deal for the biggest team in the world as they have 70% possession but a big deal for an island of 4 million people regularly playing much larger populations.

So he should be grand against Uruguay so;)

cheers for the link.

[Predator]

Not a big deal for the biggest team in the world as they have 70% possession but a big deal for an island of 4 million people regularly playing much larger populations.Point of information: the island's population is closer to 6 million. That is all.

[ArdeeBhoy]

He's never going to be an Ireland or Man.U. great, so what?

If he turns out to be the midfield equivalent of O'Shea, good enough for me.

[Stuttgart88]

And me.

[Sullivinho]

Sounds good to me.

[Kingdom]

He's never going to be an Ireland or Man.U. great, so what?

If he turns out to be the midfield equivalent of O'Shea, good enough for me.

Alongside McCarthy in a midfield two, ok no problem. We don't need brilliance from both our midfielders, and to be fair to them (whoever they are/will be), as the Russia game shows, we need as much competence on the sideline as we do from our midfield pairing when the occasion presents itself.

[elroy]

Played full game in the win against W Ham today. One of his better performances for United, wasnt superb but was on the ball an awful lot and had a very high successful pass rate. Certainly offered as much if not more than Carrick.

[tommy_c12000]

I wonder will Fergie reward with another start against Fulham next week. 2 starts and a sub appearance in under 7 days, the poor guy mustn't know what has hit him

[Noelys Guitar]

Played OK today. Missed a great chance but he is starting to use his size/weight a lot more rather than just relying on his passing game. Notice how hard it is now to push him off the ball. He is also starting to cover a lot more ground. I can see him getting better and better if he keeps starting games.

[liamoo11]

That is good news I didnt see it some of the comments on the utd fan sites are as usual crazily critical of him. if he gets a run of games he will be an excellent player

[Charlie Darwin]

He let the game pass him by a bit in the first half but he played well in the second. It was interesting to see he and Carrick switched role today - usually Carrick sits in behind and Gibson plays further forward. I think it benefited both players.

[Fergie's Son]

He missed a golden chance to score. Played well enough in the second half but I think he needs a stronger presence next to him to flourish.

[liamoo11]

I think that holding midfielder will be his position. I am nearly sure he played alot of his early reserve football at centre half and I am pretty sure he played centre half for northern ireland under 17s in a game i saw them play against our under 16s(alan o brien played for us). He has the passing game to get on the ball in that holding midfield role. He just does not have the mobility to be an attacking midfielder

[Predator]

I don't Gibson ever played centre half. He's always been a midfielder. I saw him score an absolute bullet in the Milk Cup for Co. Derry from midfield when he must have been 14 or 15.

[Razors left peg]

Gibson is in danger of becoming like Roberto Carlos in the sense that because hes perceived to has a good shot he tries it too often and the vast majority of them end up in row Z.

He was ok yesterday but I think his sense of positioning in midfield is awful. Too often he gets a pass, gives it directly back to the player and stays standing still rather than moving to create space for himself.He still strolls around too much for my liking too.

But I do think there is a very good player in there somewhere, hopefully regular first team football will bring it out of him but I think he needs a bit of an attitude change too and realises that he has to work a bit harder

[tommy_c12000]

Starts today against Fulham. Back to back premiership starts. Presume this is the first time Darron has achieved this??

[tetsujin1979]

Starts today against Fulham. Back to back premiership starts. Presume this is the first time Darron has achieved this??
First time this season he's started two consecutive Premier League games, but he started two consecutive games last season home VS Wolves and away VS Fulham in December 2009: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/ClubDetails?clubID=1724&seasonID=139 (click the box next to his name to highlight his games)

He's started consecutive games VS Blackpool in the league, and Southampton in the Cup, and again VS Crawley in the Cup and Marseille in the Champions League this season

He started three consecutive games last season VS Spurs in the League Cup, West Ham in the League, and Wolfsburg in the Champions League

[DannyInvincible]

Maybe an indication as to how Gibson is viewed on the inside at Old Trafford this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/9456685.stm

In an interview with talkSPORT, Rooney seems to position Gibson on the same pedestal as Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling, which is surely positive. These two players in particular look like they've big futures at United, so maybe the view is that Gibson will also have a central role to play in the near future.


Over the course of the season the manager has brought in a lot of younger players and it's worked, the likes of Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez, Darron Gibson. With these guys we've managed to get the results we needed and we're progressing as a team. The future looks good for us and we're on the up.

[Fergie's Son]

According to the latest Red Issue (a very funny and engaging Man United fanzine) Roney got into a shouting match with Ferguson about how terrible Gibson was.....all this while Gibson was in the room. Harsh if true.

[DannyInvincible]

I gather Rooney was on the offensive then? Harsh indeed, although it would appear to go against what he said to talkSPORT. Then again, who knows what goes on behind closed doors.

[Fergie's Son]

Rooney was most certainly on he offensive. Fir a fanzine, Red Issue is very professional and have some great scoops. They also made the observation that in the FA Cup win over Arsenal Gibson was the worst midfielder in a midfield made entirely of full backs.

[Irwin3]

According to the latest Red Issue (a very funny and engaging Man United fanzine) Roney got into a shouting match with Ferguson about how terrible Gibson was.....all this while Gibson was in the room. Harsh if true.

Haha. What is the source for this? Gibson and Rooney seem quite pally from what I've seen of them together on the pitch (Walking out together, chatting, celebrating, etc).

[Kingdom]

According to the latest Red Issue (a very funny and engaging Man United fanzine) Roney got into a shouting match with Ferguson about how terrible Gibson was.....all this while Gibson was in the room. Harsh if true.

The trouble with fanzines are some of them aren't, eh, objective at the best of times. I get to see Kop magazine often enough, and while a lot of it is funny, and some of it excellent, there have been some downright dirt pieces in the past2/3 years where there is a clear agenda going on.

[Fergie's Son]

I have no doubt that Red Issue has an agenda but it's mostly anti-Glazer rather than anti-player. They have defended Berbatov for years now and aren't huge fans of Rooney. Their sources tend to be good.

And you really can't compare it to a Liverpool magazine as most of those unemployable louts can't read or write :)

[gastric]

I have no doubt that Red Issue has an agenda but it's mostly anti-Glazer rather than anti-player. They have defended Berbatov for years now and aren't huge fans of Rooney. Their sources tend to be good.

And you really can't compare it to a Liverpool magazine as most of those unemployable louts can't read or write :)

So harsh that if I was a scouser I would feel as if someone had kicked me in the testicles!

[BonnieShels]

Well it seems that Gibson has no hard feelings watching the FA Cup game. Everytime the camera has looked at rooney in the stand him and our Darron have been having a chat.

[Charlie Darwin]

"Why don't you like me, Wayne?"

"****ing what!"

[BonnieShels]

You spelt tw@t wrong.

[paul_oshea]

No I thought he said "What, ****ing what?!" not twit with an a.

[ofjames]

Gibson starts today in what is a crucial game for United.

Interesting that the rest of the midfield today comprises Valencia, Nani and Anderson.

Thus no Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher or Carrick for Gibson to hide behind or cover for him. Huge pressure for him to perform, probably the biggest game of his career.

[tommy_c12000]

Huge gamble by Ferguson in what is a pivotal game for United

[SkStu]

how'd he do? I know they won.

[Predator]

From what I saw, United bossed the midfield. England's next great hope, Jack Rodwell, looked a bit out of his depth at times against Gibson and Anderson. Gibson was replaced by Giggs on 74 minutes.

[Charlie Darwin]

The game passed him by a bit, but we sort of expect that now. Anderson had a terrific game alongside him but Gibson seemed a bit intimidated and allowed him to take the ball every time. He was tidy in possession as usual and snatched at a couple of shots. He needs a goal or something to give him a bit of confidence in himself again.

[Fixer82]

Just looking at highlights on RTE 2 he didnt seem to do a lot wrong. But then, it is only the highlights, hard to grasp the full vibe of the game

[BonnieShels]

Charlie said it right. Rooney was on his case a lot which surely isn't helping the lad. The crap they were talking on TodayFM after the match made it out like they had Paul Green in midfield.

[Fergie's Son]

He wasn't great and his shooting was atrocious. Really poor but he wasn't overwhelmed and did the basic stuff well. He isn't good enough for Manchester United.

[liamoo11]

Watched the game today basically just to see Gibson. He played the Carrick defensive role in a very attacking midfield. He won tackles, he took the ball off the back four, he passed neat and tidy, he didnt give the ball away and he owned Rodwell and Osman. When you read this thread or the muck on Redcafe you would believe that Gibson couldnt pass the ball 5 yards yet he was far more effective today than carrick is 90% of the time. If the lad played 5 games on the trot and didnt get analysed pass by pass maybe he could try to express himself a bit more.

[Predator]

He was good enough to start in midfield today and did a decent job alongside Anderson. He had maybe 3 shots, each off target, and one bad tackle, but how many chances did Rooney or Hernandez squander in the same game? Then again, it seems almost fashionable to slag off Gibson nowadays.

[Charlie Darwin]

Watched the game today basically just to see Gibson. He played the Carrick defensive role in a very attacking midfield. He won tackles, he took the ball off the back four, he passed neat and tidy, he didnt give the ball away and he owned Rodwell and Osman. When you read this thread or the muck on Redcafe you would believe that Gibson couldnt pass the ball 5 yards yet he was far more effective today than carrick is 90% of the time. If the lad played 5 games on the trot and didnt get analysed pass by pass maybe he could try to express himself a bit more.
I don't think he played badly but I don't think he got on the ball nearly enough and didn't make enough angles to receive the ball. Carrick has been in blinding form lately and Anderson played as well as I've ever seen him and I don't think he offered half as much as either of those players. And now Fletcher is close to fitness as well so it will be tough for him to get game-time before the end of the season.

[tetsujin1979]

Here are the stats comparison for Anderson and Gibson from the Everton game, Carrick didn't play but I included his stats from the last game away VS Newcastle.
Apart from Carrick's passing stats, there's very little to choose between them


Anderson Gibson Carrick
Shots On Target 0 0 0
Off Target 2 2 0
Blocked 0 2 1
Total 2 4 1

Passes Successful 59(84%) 35(83%) 52(91%)
Unsuccessfu 11(16%) 7(17%) 5( 9%)
Assists 0 0 0
Total 70 42 57

Interceptions 1 0 1

Tackles Won 2 4 2
Lost 1 0 2
Total 3 4 4

Clearances Successful 0 1 0
Unsuccessfu 0 0 0
Total 0 1 0

Blocks 0 0 0

Free Kicks Won 2 0 1
Conceded 1 1 1

[Charlie Darwin]

Stats can be a little misleading sometimes. Anderson pulled off at least three orgasmic long-range passes - the kind Gibson often executes - and all-round he was a joy to watch. And he came to recieve the ball from the defenders and linked up with the attacking players more than Gibson did. It was a performance like Scholes of a few years ago, which I didn't really think he had in him. Gibson just seems like a less effective player in the Carrick mould and I think he'll need to become a bigger personality to supplant him. And Carrick is a fairly passive player to begin with.

[tommy_c12000]

I'd agree with Charlie on this one. He simply did not demand the ball enough for my liking. United bossed midfield yet I noted that Gibson only got on the ball once in a 15/20 minute spell during the first half. That's simply not good enough especially considering United completely dominated. Yes he won a few balls, made a few nice passes, but he simply did not do this enough. One thing that I've noticed is that he seems more concerned with shouting instructions to the United player with the ball, telling him pass left or pass right, rather than shouldering the responsibilty himself and demand the ball off the player.

[liamoo11]

Carrick was woeful against city last weekend completely responsible for citys goal and dominated by the city midfield. Up to now gibson has been the forward player in a 3 man midfield basically a performing monkey who could not be trusted with responsibility but hopefully would grab a goal. I think it is great to see him now anchoring midfield and directing traffic it shows fergusan trusts him. Of course Anderson is more talented the lad was the best player in the world at under 20 level Tim Vickery the bbc south american correspondent still drolls about him been the best player he ever saw at that level. Anderson cost 12 million pounds remember.How many 40 yard visionary passes did keane play in his career? Gibson is a quality player who hopefully moves in the summer otherwise ferguson will keep him forever getting 20-25 games a season

[Charlie Darwin]

Gibson set up a Twitter account before lunchtime today and within two hours he deleted it due to the amount of abuse he was getting. This is why I keep telling you people not to take anything you read on Manchester United message boards (about Gibson or anyone else) seriously. These people aren't football fans.

This is my favourite one so far, from a guy with a NI flag in his picture:


@dgibbo28 your ****e and trader to your country off birth !!!! Green and White army !!

Trader!

[SwanVsDalton]

Was it largely NI fans or also so-called United fans CD?

[Charlie Darwin]

I didn't get through it all (the abuse was mixed in with a million people quoting Rio Ferdinand and asking him to follow them) but it seemed to be mainly United fans, particularly Asian fans for some reason. Some racist stuff in there and the usual "traitor" stuff but mainly just "you're ****, I hope you leave in the summer" type stuff. Like I said, the sensible United fans tend to be drowned out by the throngs of gloryhunters on the internet.