It might be a coincidence that Morgan Schneiderlin didn't feature in either of Manchester United's recent defeats against PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal, or it could prove what his value is to the side.
Either way, it is clear that manager Louis van Gaal didn't believe it was a good idea to start the 25-year-old in the shocking 3-0 rout at the hands of the Gunners last weekend. Instead, he went for Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who have a combined age of 65, to try to press high and interrupt Arsenal's passing style and to chase Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott once they got caught in behind. It was obviously the wrong tactical approach and United paid for it, being absolutely battered in midfield throughout the game.
The loss at Arsenal was the first league game where Schneiderlin didn't play a single second. Prior to this game, he had six starts and one sub appearance, against Liverpool. The decision by Van Gaal was a surprise in France.
Schneiderlin hasn't been exceptional since joining the Red Devils this summer from Southampton in a ￡25 million move, but he has been solid and reliable. With 2.9 interceptions per game, he's ranked top 20 in the Premier League in that stat, way ahead of Carrick and Schweinsteiger (1.6 each).
The Frenchman is also fourth in the passes completed accuracy with 91 percent, the most for a defensive midfielder in the league, just above Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla (90.8) and Carrick (89.8). And he has almost as many key passes per game (0.3) as Carrick (0.4), with more passes per game (57.1 against 53.9).
In a team that runs more than anyone else other than Bournemouth so far this season in the Premier League, you need legs and Schneiderlin is capable of running more kilometres than Carrick or Schweinsteiger.
So early in his stint at Old Trafford, he has settled in pretty well so far. And settling in a Van Gaal team and adapting to his philosophy is not an easy thing. Last month while with France at Clairefontaine, Schneiderlin told Le Parisien how different working with the manager is compared to previous ones that he worked for.
"He is very rigorous and hard to satisfy," Schneiderlin said.
There are a lot of tactical systems to know under the Dutchman with a lot of instructions on what to do on the ball and off the ball and a lot of positioning to master.
Watching Schneiderlin play with United, it is easy to see that he doesn't yet play with the same freedom of mind he used to at Southampton. Van Gaal has a more rigid style compared to Schneiderlin's last boss in Ronald Koeman and with Mauricio Pochettino, he could almost do whatever he wanted. There are a lot of things to take on board and to keep in mind when you play under Van Gaal, which adds more even pressure than usual amount at a big club like United.
But Schneiderlin has done well enough in those circumstances and his national team manager, France's Didier Deschamps has noticed it.
"Going to a club like Manchester United is always a big step forward, but Morgan has all the qualities to succeed there," he said last month. "You can already see how much of a boost it has been for his confidence, in the way he plays when he comes here. He deserves to play for Manchester United."
Schneiderlin and the France boss have a good relationship. Schneiderlin feels a lifelong gratitude towards Deschamps for trusting him and giving him a debut with France. And the manager was not disappointed when he brought him on at half time against Portugal last month to replace Yohan Cabaye who had a thigh problem.
"Morgan coming on coincides with our best display in the game. He was excellent to get the ball back and with his passing too" stated Deschamps after the 1-0 win in Lisbon.
That night, Schneiderlin had such a positive impact on the game and continued that three days later against Serbia in Bordeaux (2-1) in a game that had a different pace to it. He showed why he is a contender to start for France. He will fight for a place in the starting lineup with Cabaye and Lassana Diarra (remember him?), who is back with France following his superb start of the season at Marseille.
With 11 caps for France and his debut in the Champions League, Schneiderlin is also getting some needed experience under his belt. Maybe Van Gaal actually felt he lacked that for the big clash against Arsenal last weekend. He should count on having two more caps by the end of this international break as he should feature for France against Armenia on Thursday and in Denmark on Sunday. By the end of the month, there will be the Manchester derby against Manchester City at Old Trafford. The smart bet is that Schneiderlin will start.
发表于 6-10-2015 05:16 PM
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