Allan Saint-Maximin (now playing for Fenerbahce, on loan from Al-Ahli)

[Lush Vlad]

14 minutes ago, St1pe said:

I honestly think it was more credit to Man U rather than him being poor in the second. AWB is a beast and there was so many bodies around him. 
 

Not having a proper left back really hampers him too. 
 

I think we’d be mad not to persist with him. 

Yeah Dalot on a yellow was a nightmare for them. As I thought Maxi had him on toast a few times. 
 

Wan Bissaka is superb in them 1 on 1 situations and having him as an option off the bench was massive for the fuckers.
 

Even with ASM having a poor second half. He still managed to get by him or find space a few times. Just the final ball let him down. 

[alexf]

Yeah AWB is one of the best 1v1 defenders in the world. He's rapid and has that great hook tackle even if you get past him. 

 

ASM was still our liveliest player and to his credit was still trying but you could still he knew he couldn't go on the outside of AWB and it effected him. 

 

At this point we should have looked to move him around. Popped him more central or try him on the right as Almiron did nothin against Shaw. 

[Stal]

I thought he looks like a an absolute gem if your team is full of plodders and you need something to happen creatively. I think he may find it more challenging, but not impossible, to fit into the team structure and tactics that Howe has instilled. I felt he did canny yesterday and shouldn't be singled out at all. 

[Ste]

I think if you’re playing alongside him, you have to get onto his wave length quickly as he’s a very impulsive player. You could see that when he’s expecting a run and plays the pass to no one. He must be quite difficult to play alongside in terms of where you position yourself or what run you make, as he often doesn’t fit into a pattern of play. That makes him very dangerous when he’s on it and it all clicks. 
 

I like him, I want to see him with Targett, I want to see him given a run on the right, I want to see him given the kind of role Isak played where he can float and sniff out the danger. 
 

I see no reason now why we can’t have him, Gordon, Isak and Miggy all interchanging up front. 

[Scoot]

1 hour ago, St1pe said:

I honestly think it was more credit to Man U rather than him being poor in the second. AWB is a beast and there was so many bodies around him. 
 

Not having a proper left back really hampers him too. 
 

I think we’d be mad not to persist with him. 

 

I've (among others) said this for a while now regarding Maxi and Burn as a left back. Maxi's game suffers for it. He's always doubled up on as Burn either doesn't offer an overlap or he's just too slow at getting there. 

 

Left back is definitely an area we need to address this summer. I would like to see Targett come back in when he's ready.

[The College Dropout]

MAN U are in the groove. Benching AWB was a mistake but then bringing him on looks like a masterstroke.

 

He's one of the best 1v1 fullbacks i've ever seen. He's so good at it that it demoralises his opponent.

 

Should've shifted ASM to the middle or right at some point. ASM had our best moment of the game and was our brightest spark. I thought he should've been closer to goal when the cross came in though. Thought his passing was off though and he was clamped by AWB.

[Doctor Zaius]

Thought he was our best outlet in the first half. AWB had him but he's the best one on one defender in the league. 

 

He certainly offers more than Almiron. I hope we can keep him and fit him in, though admittedly, we looked better with Willock and Joelinton down the left.

 

Him and Burn don't work together though. I'd like to see him given a run in the side with Target behind him.

[nemtizz]

Sorry for calling you a bum, Maxi. Can't wait to see him linking up with a proper fullback.

[TRon]

Prefer Willock tbh, I thought we played better all round football with him in the side, even if individually he's not as dangerous as ASM.

[huss9]

needs targett with him.

[ikri]

4 hours ago, TRon said:

Prefer Willock tbh, I thought we played better all round football with him in the side, even if individually he's not as dangerous as ASM.

 

Willock & Joelinton switching positions with each other during the game gives us options that we don't get with a wide forward like ASM.

[Eveready]

I don’t feel like going back to Willock and Joelinton switching LW and LCM roles is the answer.

 

We need goals and our goals dried up well before ASM came back into a starting role, and ASM himself has looked our most threatening player since.

[Gallowgate Toon]

Maybe Targett helps a bit but I can't help feeling that ASM has other really fundamental weaknesses to his game that are just of his own making, namely decision-making. Watching Sunday back a bit, misplaced balls happen, but he had a few opportunities to just go down the outside in good positions with others in the box and get something across goal but he checked back & then tried to go again etc. He has a decent left foot so it's something he should have confidence in. The constant checking slowed everything down and allowed them to get numbers set.

 

A few chances where he had chances to play 1-2s after making good bursts and then losing it after holding on too long. He's been fine since he came back into the XI but he still doesn't feel natural for Howe-ball with players that want to pass & move quickly and rotate positions. Big few months ahead for him now.

[Palestoon]

I know we've all mentioned this, but I really do think we should wait until maxi gets consistent run in the team with a natural LB behind him.

 

So much of our play goes down the right side with the tripper/longstaff/almiron combination. Plus Bruno seems to lean towards that side which leaves Maxi extremely isolated on the left.

Especially with Burn standing at the halfway line most of the time acting as a third CB since trippier is pushing so far upfield.

 

Seems like Maxi is trying to combine and play the "right way" but ends up getting doubled up with few options nearby which ends up with him panicking and playing a poor pass or getting dispossessed. 

 

I'm not ready to throw the towel in with him yet 

[Thomson Mouse]

On 27/02/2023 at 08:59, dcmk said:

Class today.

 

Anyone who wants him gone needs their heads shaked.

 

Why?

 

He’s a good player, I just can’t see him doing it here so let him go somewhere else.

 

There’s far better out there that would into the way we’d play.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Think there’s a good argument to stick with him for the rest of this season. That’s the only way he has a shot of feeling comfortable and in tune with the team. 
 

He does frustrate me obviously, but not much more than a few others. 

[NUFC91]

As much as Burn has done a great job i think he'd be more suited to Targett behind him.

[Thomson Mouse]

3 hours ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Think there’s a good argument to stick with him for the rest of this season. That’s the only way he has a shot of feeling comfortable and in tune with the team. 
 

He does frustrate me obviously, but not much more than a few others. 

 

The only argument is to put our best team out, if Howe thinks he’s in it then fine with me.

[TRon]

3 minutes ago, Thomson Mouse said:

 

The only argument is to put our best team out, if Howe thinks he’s in it then fine with me.

 

Yep. I still feel the best football we were playing was immediately before the world cup, there seemed to be a lot more intensity, and better one touch passing. Maxi wasn't playing then. But if Howe feels he can get ASM to fit his system then great.

[Lush Vlad]

He was also involved in what was possibly our best performance of the season against City and then scored that blockbuster at Wolves.  He was good against Forest on the first day, wasn't he?  

 

He only played 4 games and was then crocked for months.  I do feel like a lot of fans I have spoken to and perhaps some in here (not read back far) are making him a bit of a scapegoat.  I feel like it's a bit too simplistic to put our good run of form down to him being out of the team.  Then the mini wobble because he is back in the team now.   

 

There are a number of factors at play here.  His match fitness/sharpness, Bruno being out the team when he came back for 3 starts, Targett being out the team, having to adjust slightly to a different role.  It wasn't like we were performing really well every week since the turn of the year, with him not playing.  

 

Considering how bad we have been in the final third of late.  I think he needs to be starting a lot of games between now and the end of the season.

 

Still get that feeling he might not be around next season or fit into the long term plans.  But he's still arguably our best attacking player and we currently don't really create many chances or score goals.  So it would be good to see what he can do over the next few months, at least.  

[AyeDubbleYoo]

That's what I meant above, may as well give him a chance now.

[TRon]

2 hours ago, Lush Vlad said:

He was also involved in what was possibly our best performance of the season against City and then scored that blockbuster at Wolves.  He was good against Forest on the first day, wasn't he?  

 

He only played 4 games and was then crocked for months.  I do feel like a lot of fans I have spoken to and perhaps some in here (not read back far) are making him a bit of a scapegoat.  I feel like it's a bit too simplistic to put our good run of form down to him being out of the team.  Then the mini wobble because he is back in the team now.   

 

There are a number of factors at play here.  His match fitness/sharpness, Bruno being out the team when he came back for 3 starts, Targett being out the team, having to adjust slightly to a different role.  It wasn't like we were performing really well every week since the turn of the year, with him not playing.  

 

Considering how bad we have been in the final third of late.  I think he needs to be starting a lot of games between now and the end of the season.

 

Still get that feeling he might not be around next season or fit into the long term plans.  But he's still arguably our best attacking player and we currently don't really create many chances or score goals.  So it would be good to see what he can do over the next few months, at least.  

 

It's not about looking for scapegoats, it's about effective team play. ASM's a very exciting player, but he's never going to hit a first time ball to release the striker before the defence knows what's hit them. He'll want to take it, control it, then maybe have a little run at a player or two. Fair play to him, he's one of the best at it, but it also allows defences to regroup. I just think we were playing some really good football for a while with a lot of inter-passing moves, and we aren't seeing it now.

[Gallowgate Toon]

I don't think it's unfair to say that we've played consistently better football without ASM under Howe, to date. We've seen some very high peaks with him in the mix though.

[The College Dropout]

Was he not in the side at the back end of last season?

 

That Willock / Joe combo on the left is done from an attacking perspective.

[Colos Short and Curlies]

48 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

It's not about looking for scapegoats, it's about effective team play. ASM's a very exciting player, but he's never going to hit a first time ball to release the striker before the defence knows what's hit them. He'll want to take it, control it, then maybe have a little run at a player or two. Fair play to him, he's one of the best at it, but it also allows defences to regroup. I just think we were playing some really good football for a while with a lot of inter-passing moves, and we aren't seeing it now.

 

I think he is the perfect counterbalance to Bruno/Miggy/Gordon who are more likely to be direct and look for a quick ball through.

 

If teams look to counter that by sitting back they would then have ASM sitting 25 yards out getting the ball