Kagawa factor: Man Utd's 'weak' link

Japanese lacks physical ability to hold ball up

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  • Staff
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Manchester United's Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa reacts during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield in Liverpool, north-west England on September 23, 2012. (AFP)

Remember Juan Sebastián Verón?

Every now and then a delightful talent comes a cropper at Old Trafford.

Though Veron did not work for completely different reasons, Shinji Kagawa is looking dicey after five games.

The true test of a player’s physicality in the English Premier league is playing away at Stoke on a rainy Tuesday night.

At this point in time, Shinji Kagawa is a delicate flower that will eaten alive down at the Potteries.

While the Japanese attacking playmaker has shown all he has the skills, he clearly lacks the physical ability to hold the ball up.

Against Liverpool time and again he was hustled off the ball, first by Jonjo Shelvey and then even by the likes of Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard – hardly with a Ryan Shawcross reputation.

Kagawa is clearly the man designated with the job of taking the ball from Michael Carrick and threading it through to Robin Van Persie.

Yet, his first pass has more often than not been with his back to the opponent’s goal, and therefore, straight back to where the ball came from.

Even when given acres of space as against Galatasaray in the Champions League last week, Kagawa has been unable to find the defining Van Persie ball, having him as the final pass on three occasions then, but choosing to go on his own.

Yes, he is new and in the perhaps given the testimonies of Fabio Borini and Olivier Giroud, will need time to find his feet.

If he is unable to stand his ground, stay on his feet and hold off defenders, it does not matter how skillful he is – away at Stoke will be a nightmare, let alone the likes of Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany.

FOOTBALL’S SAMURAI

 

 

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Comments

  • Lol bear 9 January 2013 15:08 1 3
    Shinji is a flop. He sucked against west ham and most of the time lost possession or passed it straight towards the west ham defenders. Sell him before he does more damage!!!
  • On 16 October 2012 11:40 1 3
    Couldnt disagree more with this article.
  • barca fan 8 October 2012 07:42 3 2
    Dortmund had always enjoyed their oppo's persistent marking Kagawa, they/their oppos know he always became a great decoy to make great spaces for his mates. Man U don't know modern team play in football, so has let always Dembele mark him too long for nothing in the 2 games. Just by changing his position, finally he could be free and make RVP's assist a beautiful goal. Immature team. A team relying physical strength, individual skill and IQ won't win CL (even EPL).
  • barca fan 8 October 2012 07:31 3 1
    A team that can't appreciate & enjoy a player like Kagawa won't win CL. Man U & SAF just expose not only Shinji's light body for American football but also their lack in knowledge how to play 4-2-3-1. The old manager let his simple minded wingers & ultra slow CBs play like 4-4-2. Kagawa even can never find his tiki-taka partners & 3rd man runners. He should leave Man U.
  • Mel 30 September 2012 03:06 0 19
    Shinji Kagawa is useless, United don't need a player like him. Just play Rooney behind Van Persie and get rid of Scholes and Giggs especially Giggs his legs are gone and he is useless.
  • George 28 September 2012 17:17 3 5
    Kagawa is a great player I agree with him that he needs to pound up his body so that we can have more possession. There are players like Yaya Toure who will just shuffle him and take the ball without them putting any effort. Just as the game we played at Anfield but otherwise he has been great. Keep up the excellent work Kagawa you are the key to Man United's success.
  • tutu 25 September 2012 20:28 16 2
    the weakest link is Carrick and scholes.they are too static.that's the reason why kagawa hasnt shone yet.look at space between him and them always there is a huge hole.
  • shelton Dsouza 25 September 2012 13:41 14 1
    Kagawa can never be a weak link... he has had really good games for united... he has 3 assist and a goal ....he is a gem who needs to be given the ball more to work his magic and it will come off ...and to me De Gea is world class, he will be the best goal keeper in the years to come.
  • Rocky 25 September 2012 09:54 17 0
    What has physicality hav 2 do wit it.Silva,Modric,Mata & co have defied dat notion.United obviously don't trust Kagawa much,they rarely give him d ball when he's in good positions.And dis is just his 2nd month,he'l adapt & show his class.Kagawa being United weakest link?talk of weakest links,Evans,Evra & De Gea shld b in dat space.Give the boy a break pls
  • tonka 25 September 2012 08:20 12 0
    united players have to trust him. He hasn't played what he is good at yet,which definitely gives the team more options of attacking strategy.all the games he has played so far he made great runs at the right time at the right position.it's just that no one gives the ball to him.very very frustraiting to watch.if he can get the ball when he's wanting then he wouldnt need a lot of physical strength cuz he's got skills and speed. go kagawa!!
  • NJ 25 September 2012 07:56 13 1
    Kagawa is our best attacking midfielder, it's not his fault he had to keep dropping back to win the ball (he made some good tackles).
  • danski 25 September 2012 07:41 21 1
    At present he is playing in a team that is vwry static with very little movement. Scholes and Carrick just sit deep and almost never make forwwrd runs to help link up play. Van Persie is pushing far up field and usually marked by 2 defenders, and the wingers are hugging the touch line. Who is he meant to link up with? Yet somehow he already has 1 goal and 3 assists.
  • Tanaka 25 September 2012 00:43 15 0
    Strength doesn't matter as much as it used to in the Premier League. Look at players like David Silva, Juan Mata, and Eden Hazard. Some of the best players in the league and they don't have strength. Same with Kagawa, he is an excellent distributor of the ball and creates loads of chances.
  • kiryowa ibrahim 24 September 2012 17:39 20 1
    to me kagawa was the most entertaining on the ball.its just that united as a team hasnt put their act together and that the boy is a few months old at o.t.lets give him sometime he will be a hit.
  • TT 24 September 2012 16:37 23 0
    Talk about holding the ball up, Kagawa did better than Van Persie. He drew fouls from liverpool players and frequently halted their ongoing offensive. He is not a Kop Flop, he was the best attacking option today! United need to trust him and play him through the middle!
  • Lix 24 September 2012 15:01 2 1
    Wat mo z needed hw many assists hs h banged so far.ts not rvp only n th field.4mation uzd by liverpul waz difficult for him
  • Fadhy Mtanga 24 September 2012 14:11 21 1
    Shinji Kagawa will cope with the strength needed for Premiers. It's just a matter of time so far he had himself admitted that he should add some pounds to his weight so as to come along accordingly to the Premiers. We do expect Kagawa to improve. He is a brilliant and skillfull player. All the best Kagawonderful.
  • gogo 24 September 2012 11:52 26 0
    he has been not so bad although he hasn't played like he did in Germany. if he can get the ball when he wants, he'll play like he did in Germany. united players need to start giving the ball to him more often instead of side attack.
  • ST 24 September 2012 11:04 22 0
    Hello? 5 games in with a new club in a new league in a new country... Just wait for the front players to gel.

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  Team P W D L GD PTS
1 = Man Utd 38 28 5 5 43 89
2 = Man City 38 23 9 6 32 78
3 = Chelsea 38 22 9 7 36 75
4 = Arsenal 38 21 10 7 35 73
5 = Tottenham 38 21 9 8 20 72
6 = Everton 38 16 15 7 15 63
7 = Liverpool 38 16 13 9 28 61
8 = West Brom 38 14 7 17 -4 49
9 = Swansea 38 11 13 14 -4 46
10 = West Ham 38 12 10 16 -8 46
11 = Norwich 38 10 14 14 -17 44
12 = Fulham 38 11 10 17 -10 43
13 = Stoke 38 9 15 14 -11 42
14 = Southampton 38 9 14 15 -11 41
15 = Aston Villa 38 10 11 17 -22 41
16 = Newcastle 38 11 8 19 -23 41
17 = Sunderland 38 9 12 17 -13 39
18 = Wigan 38 9 9 20 -26 36
19 = Reading 38 6 10 22 -30 28
20 = QPR 38 4 13 21 -30 25

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