Darron Gibson

[Jicked]

Whatever about Giles, Dunphy is getting progressively worse, OTT, sensationalist just to get a reaction.

But if you think they're bad you shouldve switched over to Fat Pat on Setanta, oh sweet jesus. For some reason, he felt the result was a great reason to say how overrated Rooney was and how he is only rated by people who watch english football and think they know football as a result etc etc.
Sorry for the offtopic.

Fat Pat is so desperate to get a gig on that RTÉ panel in the future it's embarassing, he's says the most ridiculous controversial stuff just in the hope he'll be the long term replacement for Giles/Dunphy

[Charlie Darwin]

I don't think I could handle Pat at RTE.

I thought Fletcher was better than Gibson, but that's because he's a better, more experienced player. I thought Fletcher was a little subdued, whereas Gibson really raised his game. He still has a lot to learn from Fletcher in terms of closing down players - I don't think it's because Fletcher works harder, it's just that he can do the donkey work in midfield with great economy of effort, whereas Gibson seems to have to work harder to have the same effect. He's definitely improving, and hopefully he gets 3 or 4 starts in the run-in as Alex realises he needs fresh blood in the centre.

[Longfordian]

Fat Pat is so desperate to get a gig on that RTÉ panel in the future it's embarassing, he's says the most ridiculous controversial stuff just in the hope he'll be the long term replacement for Giles/Dunphy

A couple of months ago he was going on about Roy Hodgson being overrated and how would he be able to inspire a team, then last night he was saying "it's taken him a long time to get the recognition he deserves in his own country" blah blah. He's a ridiculous pundit.

[MuckaTucka]

I have to laugh at some of the comments about Gibson. What exactly do people mean by saying they're 'wary' of him?

Semantics. What I mean by wary is that I'm not utterly convinced that he is going to go on and hold a place for the national team. He does some great things, and I do like him as a player at times. It's just don't know who he fits alongside in midfield for Traps 4-4-2?

[irishfan86]

I think Gibson could be a top top player if played in the right system. He may be a "luxury" player, but if he was given more freedom to play a role similar to the one Lampard played under Mourinho, I think he could be that sort of goal scoring midfielder. I think he could even play the Gerrard role behind a main striker...not entirely certain he's responsible enough to play in the centre in a 4-4-2.

[Acornvilla]

he plays a bit like a striker sometimes he gets way to far ahead of the play (for a midfielder) sometimes i notice

[Charlie Darwin]

I thought that too, but I actually think it's the way he's been asked to play. With only one man up front, you really need a mobile midfielder who'll bomb ahead without the ball, and Gibson seems to be the guy who does it when he's on. Park did the same to devastating effect against Liverpool. Obviously Gibson is still raw and sometimes he just looks out of position, but I can see what he's trying to do.

[Irish_Praha]

Didn't start today but came on with 35 mins to go. Just following this with text updates from the internet but it looks like since he came on UTD have started to turn the screw a bit more.
He's getting involved and shooting at evey chance. Hopefully one of his shots will produce something. I'm not a UTD fan but would like to see the title race go down to the wire and of course prefer to see the Irish players win something.

[Razors left peg]

Im watchin the game here. Hes doing ok, getting stuck in anyway

[yapster]

Gibson will score some goals for Ireland in the future.

[Predator]

Semantics. What I mean by wary is that I'm not utterly convinced that he is going to go on and hold a place for the national team. He does some great things, and I do like him as a player at times. It's just don't know who he fits alongside in midfield for Traps 4-4-2?

'Semantics'? What do you mean? I simply questioned what people meant by saying that they were 'wary' of Gibson, who, while he may not have grabbed the football world by the scruff of the neck, has been slowly but surely improving for United, scoring some cracker goals on the way.

Anyway, a lot of players drift in and out of national squads, based on a number of factors. Gibson has ability; he has proven it and he should be at the top end of football in England for years to come. Hopefully while he's at it he might gain some more caps and score a few goals for Ireland.

[Charlie Darwin]

That's a fair analysis. We're talking about a player trying to break into the second best team in England and Champions League finalists the past two years. Lampard didn't sign for Chelsea until he was 23 and didn't break until the England squad on a regular basis until he was 24. He's playing in a position where players don't typically break through as early as in other positions, for physical and technical reasons, so it's not a huge concern that he's still on the fringes. As long as he continues to impress (he looked a far bigger threat than Scholes today, and Carrick/Fletcher on Wednesday), he'll get his chance to nail down a place.

Not saying he'll be as good as Lampard, but he's another example of a player who made gradual rather than meteoric progress.

[elroy]

He did alright today, def the most aggressive I have seen Gibson in a game.
United are going to be in transition for a while now, the likes of Giggs, Neville and Scholes are on their last days and will need to be replaced by hopefully the likes of Gibson. Very hard to see them winning the league now, in fact Id have City favourites for the derby on sat. If Gibson was deemed good enough to start against Bayern, think there is a good chance he will also start there.

[DeLorean]

Whatever about Gibson's future prospects, it's no surprise that United's season has fallen apart when they are relying on the likes of him at this vital stage of the season. The most common type of praise for him on here is by saying that somebody else was actually worse, which is no praise at all really. As somebody who wanted to see United winning the last couple of matches I honestly felt they'd a lot less of a chance with him on the pitch. Outside of a decent shot his contribution is minimal, at that's against the likes of Wolves, nevermind Bayern or Chelsea.

[MuckaTucka]

'Semantics'? What do you mean? I simply questioned what people meant by saying that they were 'wary' of Gibson, who, while he may not have grabbed the football world by the scruff of the neck, has been slowly but surely improving for United, scoring some cracker goals on the way.

I mean that being wary and not being totally convinced by a player is much the same thing.
Speaking without the Irish blinkers on, I honestly believe there's no reason to say he hasn't actually done anything to suggest he is going to be any better than the likes of Jonathan Greening yet. Just because he's playing for Manchester United seems to buy him a lot more credit than the likes of Meyler who's with unfashionable Sunderland but playing very well.

I would love to see Gibson go on to become a top class player for Ireland. I'm not saying he's crap, doesn't have any potential, or is undeserving of a place in the Irish squad. He just should be judged on the same standards as any other midfielders playing consistently well in the Premiership no matter if it's Manchester United or Wigan. I accept getting a start for Man United might be more difficult, but on the otherhand playing against inferior opposition should make things easier once he's out on that pitch.
Is Gibson a better bet than Fahy, Wilson, Meyler or McCarthy in the Irish midfield? It's hard to say.

We seem to have a raft of young midfielders now that haven't been involved in a competitive game for Ireland. Which is fantastic compared to the beginning of the last campaign.

[OneRedArmy]

In the context of the international side, Gibson's current strengths seem to be as an attacking midfielder pushing forward and getting shots. He isn't there defensively, as a passer or as a "controller" of a game who will play in a system, keep it tight and keep it moving. Rightly or wrongly its the latter than Trap looks for. Maybe he might get a game if we play 4-5-1, but he's a bit to go to get into a team playing 4-4-2 IMO.

[SkStu]

In the context of the international side, Gibson's current strengths seem to be as an attacking midfielder pushing forward and getting shots. He isn't there defensively, as a passer or as a "controller" of a game who will play in a system, keep it tight and keep it moving. Rightly or wrongly its the latter than Trap looks for. Maybe he might get a game if we play 4-5-1, but he's a bit to go to get into a team playing 4-4-2 IMO.

agree with this summary of his position and to be honest it has shown in the games he has played under Trappatoni.

[ofjames]

Darron's goal-scoring prowess is getting praise from Sir Alex. Hopefully he gets substantial playing time in the last 4 games of the season

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...092619,00.html

Alex Ferguson

Meanwhile, the vastly-experienced Scottish tactician has praised the goals output of Darron Gibson, who took his season tally to six after scoring against Bayern Munich last week.

Ferguson believes it would be unwise to ignore Gibson's goal-scoring prowess and has likened the 22-year-old's ability to find the back to the net to that of Paul Scholes.

United's long-serving manager believes with more regular first-team football the Republic of Ireland international could make a telling contribution from midfield.

"You saw Gibson's performance against Bayern Munich," he said. "That was his sixth goal of the season [in all competitions] and you cannot dismiss that.

"It is the kind of contribution we used to get from Paul Scholes. He used to get me 12 to 14 goals from midfield all the time and we haven't had a player like that in a while.

"Who is to say if Gibson had been playing all the time where he would be in terms of goals? But he is getting recognition now and even the players are commenting on how much he has improved."

[rebelmusic]

Point about his goals is fair enough. He has 6 goals in what, 12 appearances? And how many of those as a sub? If he had been a regular all season i would see him up around the 15 mark

[tetsujin1979]

According to this - http://www.skysports.com/football/pl...324568,00.html - he's only got 5 goals this season (2 VS Spurs, 1 VS West Ham, Bolton and Bayern) who's the sixth against?