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.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
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?
Last edited by Noelys Guitar; 19/02/2011 at 10:25 PM.
Originally Posted by 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.
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.
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?
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....)?
There's the right way, the wrong way.... and the Max Power way!! :-D
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.
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.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 20/02/2011 at 7:40 AM.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Last edited by Noelys Guitar; 20/02/2011 at 11:42 AM.
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.
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.
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 !
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.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
Good news for Darron - Anderson's out for two months.
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