[haggler]

So the boy started well and looked a threat going forward - fergie said he was going to be his first choice right back -

Trouble is he is a bloody liability -

Last night he was missing more than lord lucan -- vidic was doing his head in trying to cover 2 mens jobs .

His distribution was poor when he did get ball but his total naivity as regards actual defending was breath-taking .

when a player gets past him he either a grabs them and pulls them down or b just watch them gallop away .

I know he is young but you cant afford to take risks like him at the back -

either fergie changes his position or there can be no future for him .

this is a rant about a single player and some do not like singling out individuals but he is going missing every time he plays

 

[red dave]

I think Fergie may play him less and less as the season nears its climax .

I think he has been usefull in the sense he has given Neville someone to compete against and I fully expect Nevs to push on and finish the season first choice.

 

[germufc]

Would be nice to see Neville back there permanently I reckon. The man is United. I do think Rafael will be quality for us in the next couple of seasons though. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[VaVa]

He's only a chap and new to all this, played well up untill last nights game, plus the whole team were bad last night. Hopefully he can learn from a bad game and build on it.

Brown will finish all our big games at RB, Neville hasn't got it anymore and like haggs said Rafa isn't experienced enough for big matches.

But i'd like to see him hold the RB spot next season, i like him!!

 

[ScottE335]

Quote myself lol, from another thread:

I really like Rafael but his attacking does sometimes leave us open at the back as he doesn't seem to track back quick enough always after going up front. He looks to be an amazing talent though and isn't scarred of anyone, that goal against Arsenal was class, hope we see more of that.

At the end of the day, he is young and inexperienced and SAF will use him wisely. I don't expect him to play against Chelsea this weekend from SAF's point of view, but if it were me I would play him. Gary is getting too old, Wes ain't fit still is he? and not played in a while so Rafael should really play.

He certainly isn't a luxury we can't afford, he is a useful talent growing in the squad and they need to be given chances to gain experience.

What better chance than a Carling Cup game, high profile but not our first aim.

Give the lad a chance.

 

[Check the Milkman]

I think he should be ahead of Neville in the pecking order. Neville has been shocking everytime I have seen him this season. A really skillful winger will do him in one of these days. I think Brown should be 1st choice and Rafa 2nd choice.

 

[Clarky101]

so many people were slating him at the game last night and i felt kinda sorry for the lad. dont get me wrong he did have a terrible game last night but his had great games throughout the season.

he is def one to last in that position but i think were gonna have to be patient with this one. his a wee lad and has been dropped in at the deep end.

his healthy for the club gives brown and nev a kick to perform and gets him more and more exp. but yeah his commiting way to much forward for my liking, his leaving us with 3 at the back way to often but he'll learn his got fergie to drum his mistakes into him

raf ftw

 

[haggler]

i think wes first by a mile and nev is on last legs but as first stated the boy is a liability playing like that and bad habits are hard to eradicate

 

[RedForceRising]

Fergie never actually said he's first choice, he said wes and nev have a problem now and the tabloid made up their own titles for that.

Anyway.

Wes Brown should be the first choice. Rafael sure is handy, but he ain't not defender.....yet!

He looks blinkered on the pitch to be honest. Like he's not quite sure what's going on. It reminded me of the look Paul Ince had in his brief time in charge...

 

[StretfordEnder08]

i know yeah definately one for the future, and i have enjoyed watching him play this season, lacks experience but will obviously gain more in the future, i think gary neville is now coming back to full fitness and is getting better with every game, i think we do miss wes as he was so soild for us last season and really performed well

 

[Forever_United]

we've hit gold with that lad, just you wait.

 

[antdevil78]

think he's just showing his lack of experience at the minute. we all saw the amazing first few games when he did nothing wrong and now he is just showing he is human after all.

 

[dlan4327]

With Evra obviously first choice left back, I have often wondered whether Fabio Da Silva might be our answer to a long standing problem.

Now considering Rafael's attacking ability maybe we could convert both the twins to wingers. Any thoughts?

Imagine Fabio playing left wing & linking up with Evra. Also if/when Ronaldo eventually leaves it's nice to know we have cover.

 

[haggler]

With Evra obviously first choice left back, I have often wondered whether Fabio Da Silva might be our answer to a long standing problem.

Now considering Rafael's attacking ability maybe we could convert both the twins to wingers. Any thoughts?

Imagine Fabio playing left wing & linking up with Evra. Also if/when Ronaldo eventually leaves it's nice to know we have cover.

to be honest rafael impresses me more as an attacking player so the winger idea may not be too far off the mark -- sometimes a player only shines when played elsewhere -- anyone remember henry at juve ? he was played as a winger and looked poor - wenger switched him to striker and rest is history -back to rafael i dont think many of us were raving about his defensive skills in the first couple of outings were we ?

 

[Wazza1989]

Rafa made a very good impresion, but the mistakes he made are just because of his age. Just wait and see when he'll reach 25-26...if Rafa and Fabio evolve in a couple of years as they're expected and with Vida and Evans in the back in the future...we'll have the best deffence in the world.

 

[scottsati]

think rafa is a great prospect.........prospect being the important thing. he comes from a country where defending isn't given high priority and he is also very young and inexperienced.
his assests are evident to all but so sadly are his defensive frailties, but they are something that can hopefully be learned over the next couple of years. evra attacks but also has the ability to track back fantastically well or if he gets caught up field then slot in there and start defending there while someone covers for him at the back. one thing that does annoy me is rafa's tendency to either attempt a ridiculous tackle that often ends in a foul or just basically do whatever to stop the player which again results in a foul.

all these faults though are something you learn to take out of your game and improve on especially when you arrive in a different country at a club and in a league where football is played very differently to that of his homeland.

his assests still outweigh the negative issues , actually if anything he has been brought on a little too fast and it seems to have gone to his head and it hasn't taken opposition teams very long to catch onto his weaknessess.

let him get on with his playing over the next couple of years, let him learn the game and then make a judgement then.

for me nev is clearly not the future but has something to offer us still, but have always liked wes brown myself-he's not perfect and before the injury his performance level had slipped, but the guy can still do the job there

 

[hafiz_shukri00391]

I think Fergie may play him less and less as the season nears its climax .

I think he has been usefull in the sense he has given Neville someone to compete against and I fully expect Nevs to push on and finish the season first choice.

Agree !! Even he show his great potential, he should do more homework on his defensive area but for I think Neville are a balanced defender as he work moderately on his attacking role and at the same time, he really focus his defensive role...

 

[RedForceRising]

think rafa is a great prospect.........prospect being the important thing. he comes from a country where defending isn't given high priority and he is also very young and inexperienced.
his assests are evident to all but so sadly are his defensive frailties, but they are something that can hopefully be learned over the next couple of years. evra attacks but also has the ability to track back fantastically well or if he gets caught up field then slot in there and start defending there while someone covers for him at the back. one thing that does annoy me is rafa's tendency to either attempt a ridiculous tackle that often ends in a foul or just basically do whatever to stop the player which again results in a foul.

all these faults though are something you learn to take out of your game and improve on especially when you arrive in a different country at a club and in a league where football is played very differently to that of his homeland.

his assests still outweigh the negative issues , actually if anything he has been brought on a little too fast and it seems to have gone to his head and it hasn't taken opposition teams very long to catch onto his weaknessess.

let him get on with his playing over the next couple of years, let him learn the game and then make a judgement then.

for me nev is clearly not the future but has something to offer us still, but have always liked wes brown myself-he's not perfect and before the injury his performance level had slipped, but the guy can still do the job there

I think he should be an understudy to Patrice.

When you watch Patrice, he gets forward and once he completes his move forward, he's almost tracking back straight away.

Meaning - he crosses, if the ball doesn't come back his way, he's already moving back, so he has less ground to cover if there's a counter. Same when he gets to the byline, if the attack peters out or the ball doesn't come back to him he's almost immediately jogging back down the flank.

Rafael tends to stick around and watch what happens. I almost feel like handing him some pop corn and a deck chair

 

[red dave]

Rafael is just 18 and just to be holding his own the premier league and champions league is amazing .

If you can remember being 17 turning 18 you wouldnt of been fully developed he has still got to learn the basis of football .

Yes I do agree since spurs away in december he has looked very very young and Vidic has often lost his temper with him .

Like I said in a early post I fully expect G Neville to take first choice right back now but to write off Rafael as a right back is insane !

 

[versa]

I don't think we thought much of Evra initially and by his own admission, he confessed to a terrible start in his United career. And Evra was much older then.