Nemanja77 wrote:
Lingard is fine. He isn't great, but once again he had a fine game. He has become a decent player in the team, works hard and does the simpler things. Kind of the new Fletcher/O'Shea/Park type of a player.
He is decent, but the maximum for him would be our bench and maybe not every time. Definitely, he is not a player who should start more games than Martial or more than Mkhitaryan.
I don't have anything against him, just a feeling he is playing too much, while better players are somehow behind him in pecking order.
This reminds me of Craig Bellamy on MNF last season(or was it the season before that?). He talked about how his time at City was. He was there but then they bought Robinho, SWP, Tevez, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Adam Johnson etc.
He said that he didn't see himself playing up front after that, because the guys were better than him. But he saw that Robinho was not doing that well and didn't really put in the required effort and made a point of changing his position(before he was a striker) to get games. He knew he'd have to work hard and show the right attitude and this would be the only way he'd play for a club of that standard.
I think it's not very different for Lingard. He sees that he has to work hard to get games and he probably knows that if others start to work as hard as him, then he won't get much game time. And that's kind of setting the standard at the club. I think such players are invaluable for the club. They set the standard that any newcomer must meet to get any time on the pitch. And it also sets the standard for the likes of Mata, Martial, Mkhitaryan, Martial and even Rooney...
While Lingard is not a great player I think he has enough quality to play the 'workers' role. Plus he isn't someone who loses the ball too often. He works his socks off in attack, trying to find pockets of space and he works well defensively. I think the comparison with Park isn't very off. He perhaps isn't at good in that role right now, but I think he'll grow into it. He's just 23 and I think he'll get better with time.
I think the 'blame' for him playing so much is on the others. The likes of Martial, Rashford, Memphis and even Mkhitaryan should have more end product to warrant an automatic place. They have played reasonably well but they haven't really set the world alight. The fact that Martial, Rashford and Mkhitaryan between themselves have just 11 goals and 6 assists by this stage of the season shows that they've underperformed on the whole. I think Jose is right that everyone other than Zlatan (and Pogba probably as well) must up their game in attack. This has just not been good enough so far.
As for Fellaini - I believe you don't hate him, but the way you phrased your post gave me a feeling that you either hate or just very much dislike him.
I do agree that he isn't at the required standard but then again if he is fourth choice + plan B + someone who sets the standards in terms of effort then I don't mind having him around. I still feel we haven't been able to use him to a good effect as a target man but clearly he has some skills that nobody else possesses and if used right, then it could be very useful.
As for Jose having different standards for different players - I suppose that's normal? I think we've heard it often enough how people say that some players need to be told off to get them focused, others need support. I also disagree with him doing the talking in public, but I have some hope that this will change.
The difference with Fergie was that Fergie WAS United. Nobody really did question whether he was the right man for the job. At least not seriously. It was his way or the highway. I think it was invaluable and I hope Jose can create that as well. But that will take years of hard work before we might see something like that.