The Red Report: PIKs, Kiko, A new great Dane & Club vs Country

Our third United topic is another player debate: Kiko Macheda is a young prodigy, his name has been familiar for over 18 months now and despite his age people expect fireworks every time he plays. Has he stalled or are we being unrealistic in our expectations?

Kyle | Stretford-End: I think Kiko has the potential to be a brilliant player for us. His strike against Villa was pure class (their fans must hate him by now) and reinforces that he is a capable finisher. I’ve seen some criticism of him lately, but it’s important to remember he’s still only 19 years old. He still has a lot of developing left to do. That said, he is not yet to a level where we can play him as the lone striker and perhaps he never will be. He’s always seemed to work best with a partner up front. He was a bit quiet against Wigan, be he was up front alone and hardly getting service. Sir Alex kept him here this season because he has something to offer; we saw that last week against Wigan. With more experience he will gain consistency. We all need to remember the glimpses of brilliance he’s shown us. I have no doubt that we’ll soon be seeing that on a more regular basis.

Doron | Stretford-End: I’m a massive fan of Kiko. Before that Villa goal I was already taken aback by his performances for the Academy and Reserves. The frightening thing is that he only just turned 19 at the start of the season, he’s still a kid. This of course means we have to be patient. He will make mistakes, he will have bad games and he will learn a lot. His talent is unquestionable though and it bugs me that he gets more stick than he probably deserves and worse still, some people are writing him off already before his career has even started properly. The thing that infuriates me though is how he is used. Playing him alone in a Champions League game as part of a rotated line up where he’ll get no service cannot help him. He always seems to get used in games where other players are rested and as a result he is given scraps at best to feed off. I wish we’d see more of him alongside Berbatov and Rooney in particular as he’s a very clever player. We saw that last year at home to Spurs, he came on and had a brilliant impact in that game when he was surround by the strongest other 9 outfield players at the time. There’s a lot more to come from Kiko, patience is key.

Siddarth | Bangalore to Old Trafford: Kiko’s development since his emergence against Villa with that spectacular goal has been disappointing, he’s not really lived upto his initial promise. Everyone expected him to take the premiership by storm, but two seasons on, he’s yet to score a goal when he’s started a game, but unfortunately most of the game that he has started he’s been asked to play upfront on his own, a role he just seems to suck at. He’s still only 19, so he’s got loads of time on his side, but he must be vary that Welbeck and Diouf have been very impressive on loan in the premiership, while Hernandez has already shown how good he is. And with Will Keane and John Cofie showing a lot of potential, the competition for a first team spot is just going to get tougher next year. And Kiko must really step up and fulfill his great potential. He’s a brilliant finisher no doubt, but the physical side of his game really needs improvement, I think he needs a loan to a premiership club and playing regular football to continue improving.

TG | ManUtd24: I’ve always been a fan of his, even before that goal against Aston Villa. What was remarkable to me is that he developed faster than I could imagine. However, he needs to keep both his feet firmly on the ground – with youth comes naivety. He’s 19, and although that’s not quite reflected with his looks, he still has a long way to go and will improve and develop further. He will find it difficult playing regularly for the club, but having said that, it’s best he stays put rather than being sent on loan.

Alan | RedForceRising: He reminds me a bit of Pippo Inzaghi in that he is slow and is often offside, but can really find the target. His goal against Villa was a rocket and it was vital. I have a feeling that Kiko thrives in big moments and needs the adrenalin rush to get his game going. Whenever he starts a game, he just seems to go into auto-pilot and cruise along. He is in desperate need to go out on loan, but Fergie felt the club needed to keep a foot on him”, meaning that he wasn’t mature enough yet and that was probably a good move. Kiko can have a future at the club, but needs to play with urgency from the first minute and needs to learn how to improve his all-round game, because football consists of a lot of other things being done right, before the ball can be put in the back of the net.

We all can recognise Kiko’s talent and potential, let’s hope he fulfils it.

As per usual we decided to look at a non-United topic. After another dire session of midweek international friendlies a few Premier League clubs got angered over club vs. country politics. As fans, where do we stand on club vs. country?

Doron | Stretford-End: Very simply United > England. There was once a time when I was a kid, 12-15 years ago when I was so excited when England played. The ‘old’ Wembley had a history and the team played with passion. It was almost exciting! Today though, it’s a political mess of egos. The FA are as corrupt as anything and the England team is in its image. The thought of cheering someone as nauseating as John Terry or Steven Gerrard is not for me. It would be nice to see a successful England team who played good football and fulfilled the potential that the ‘Golden Generation’ had as individuals but I’d rather watch the United Reserves away at Bury Reserves over an England game at the present moment….as the song goes “World Champions twice, once more than England, World Champions twice”

Siddarth | Bangalore to Old Trafford: Well I can’t really comment on this topic considering India don’t have much of a football team, and for me United are pretty much everything in football. So for me Club is greater than country any day, but then the pride to play for one’s country and wear the jersey on the pitch is something club football can’t ever provide, so it comes down to the player finally what he wants.

Kyle | Stretford-End: For me, it has always been club > country. While visiting my aunt in England as a child I was introduced to Manchester United. In the United States I had never been properly introduced to football, and so United was my gateway to loving football. I obviously grew to support the United States national team, but Manchester United came first and it has always remained first. I’ve received a lot of hate for picking United over my country. I’ve been slammed for being unpatriotic, but there’s nothing I can do about. You love what you love and you can’t force yourself to change that. United is my biggest passion in life, and in a way has become my purpose in life. I chose to pursue a career in sports journalism hoping to one day cover United. My national team will always have my support when there are internationals, but United will always be my first and biggest love.

TG | ManUtd24: It’s always United > England although I hate when people say that. I support England passionately and every two years, whenever they play in a major competition, I find myself swept up in jingoism with the rest of the nation. I’m still hurt by Lampard’s non-goal against Germany! Not sure why United fans have to go on the defensive all the time, too. One thing I hate is, with many of our players representing the national side, their hardly ‘scum’ right? I’ve never quite enjoyed watching England play friendlies though, mainly because our players always seem to fall foul of them. But, United is always #1.

Alan | RedForceRising: A no-brainer for me. I love my country, but I follow my club’s success week-in-week-out. Manchester United is a big part of my life and I even try to catch reserves and academy matches whenever I can. It might seem unpatriotic, but it’s the truth. Just about the only thing I’m concerned about during International matches and competitions is that Manchester United players don’t get injured and that the cameramen spot some fine-looking female fans in the crowd. Amen.

Club>Country

Best of the blogs:

Stretford-End | Extending The United Family By One

Bangalore to Old Trafford | Rise of Rafa

ManUtd24 | Anders Lindegaard’s Progress Over The Last 18 Months Has Been Meteoric

RedForceRising | Loan Watch: Video Of Welbeck’s MOTM Performance And Goal

That concludes another Red Report for the week. Hopefully this edition keeps you entertained until next Monday. Were always open to hear from you so you can catch us on Twitter:

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