Let's forget about the game last night as if I am completely honest Tom didn't have the most successful of games. However ever since I have watched Tom Cleverley throughout his playing career I have been a great admirer of him. I'll tell you why.
What I see most in the midfielder are his excellent technical abilities, he can read the game very well - an iconic modern day midfielder. Furthermore, Tom is also a very good passer of the ball; there has been much debate as to whether he can replace Paul Scholes, but lets just say Scholesy is irreplaceable. Also, he will never have the passing range of Paul; however, Cleverley has a good ability to dirbble and then offload the ball rather than pinging the ball from side to side on a pivot. Therefore he has an exceptional ability to push the ball further up the pitch and then supply the wingers/strikers. Last season our main Central Midfielders: Anderson, Carrick and Fletcher, only managed a total of nine goals in total for the season - in all competitions that is. In fairness, they never really play in an attacking midfield role; however in my opinion this is a poor goalscoring record. Moreover, this is where Cleverley comes in. Over his last three on loan seasons at Leicester City, Watford and Wigan Athletic, he netted a total of over twenty goals. Although these were in lower leagues; Cleverley has shown his attacking and goalscoring ability with goals in the pre-season tours United have encountered on over the last three years.
So there definitely is ability, but is he suited to Manchester United and could he cope with the pressures of playing in the Premier League/CL? Look at Jack Wilshere - 19 years old and last season he was by far their most consistent player. He played over 35 league games and shined throughout. Wilshere had previously been on loan at Bolton Wanderers - I'm starting to see a pattern (I hope). So in my opinion pressure is definitely no issue. So the question is whether Tom could cope playing for a team of such great calibre. Sir Alex must give him the chance he needs prove his place at United - play him in his preferred role as a Central Midfielder. Therefore we could then see how good this lad is. There is proof that Ferguson has faith in; as in this interview with BBCsport he commented:
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What I see most in the midfielder are his excellent technical abilities, he can read the game very well - an iconic modern day midfielder. Furthermore, Tom is also a very good passer of the ball; there has been much debate as to whether he can replace Paul Scholes, but lets just say Scholesy is irreplaceable. Also, he will never have the passing range of Paul; however, Cleverley has a good ability to dirbble and then offload the ball rather than pinging the ball from side to side on a pivot. Therefore he has an exceptional ability to push the ball further up the pitch and then supply the wingers/strikers. Last season our main Central Midfielders: Anderson, Carrick and Fletcher, only managed a total of nine goals in total for the season - in all competitions that is. In fairness, they never really play in an attacking midfield role; however in my opinion this is a poor goalscoring record. Moreover, this is where Cleverley comes in. Over his last three on loan seasons at Leicester City, Watford and Wigan Athletic, he netted a total of over twenty goals. Although these were in lower leagues; Cleverley has shown his attacking and goalscoring ability with goals in the pre-season tours United have encountered on over the last three years.
So there definitely is ability, but is he suited to Manchester United and could he cope with the pressures of playing in the Premier League/CL? Look at Jack Wilshere - 19 years old and last season he was by far their most consistent player. He played over 35 league games and shined throughout. Wilshere had previously been on loan at Bolton Wanderers - I'm starting to see a pattern (I hope). So in my opinion pressure is definitely no issue. So the question is whether Tom could cope playing for a team of such great calibre. Sir Alex must give him the chance he needs prove his place at United - play him in his preferred role as a Central Midfielder. Therefore we could then see how good this lad is. There is proof that Ferguson has faith in; as in this interview with BBCsport he commented:
"His movement and understanding of space is really good for a young player"
Comment and subscribe: @MUFCbloggerUTD Follow me on twitter.
Give him more playing time and he will shine
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