Who deserves November's Player of the Month award?
The mid-season break is here, as the football world prepares to turn its gaze to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but, first, there’s the significant matter of United’s Player-of-the-Month award for November to sort out.
The Reds signed off in style with a remarkable 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday, in what will be our final game for over five weeks. But we still managed to pack four games into the busy early November period, which means there are plenty of strong performances to bear in mind when considering our monthly prize.
And we can reveal that the trio up for November’s gong are Casemiro, David De Gea and Alejandro Garnacho. There was a wide spread of other players who received mentions, too, proving just how much progress United have been making as a collective.
But the big question is: who will you vote for?
Read about our three chosen Reds’ recent accomplishments below, and then cast your vote in our poll…
CASEMIRO 3 (1) apps
Last month’s winner continued to demonstrate his massive influence in the middle of the pitch, with Christian Eriksen’s opening goal at Fulham merely the latest example of his sublime game-reading abilities. The Brazilian snatched the ball away from Cottagers midfielder Tom Cairney with a superbly timed tackle, which enabled the Reds to spring forward en masse. A few passes later, we were 1-0 up. Elsewhere in November, Casemiro did plenty to shepherd us towards the win over Real Sociedad in San Sebastian – a city where he triumphed with Real Madrid on many occasions – and even endeared himself to fans with a series of defiant tackles in the otherwise forgettable defeat to Aston Villa. Our no.18 is the strong, silent type; a master in the business of stopping drama rather than creating it. And doesn’t the Red Army love him for it…
DAVID DE GEA, 3 apps / 1 clean sheet
Quietly, David is enjoying one of his best United seasons – which is saying something for the player who’s won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award more than any other in our history. Inevitably, when we win, the attacking players take the lion’s share of the credit, but without De Gea’s elastic reflexes, the platform for victory would often not even exist. That was very much the case in San Sebastian, where David pulled off an otherworldly double save to deny Andoni Gorosabel and Pablo Marin. There was more of that at Fulham, where he supplied a series of stops to keep Fulham at bay. The London club did manage an equaliser, but De Gea’s efforts to thwart the hosts were proved priceless when Alejandro Garnacho struck in the dying minutes to snatch all three points.
Quietly, David is enjoying one of his best United seasons – which is saying something for the player who’s won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award more than any other in our history. Inevitably, when we win, the attacking players take the lion’s share of the credit, but without De Gea’s elastic reflexes, the platform for victory would often not even exist. That was very much the case in San Sebastian, where David pulled off an otherworldly double save to deny Andoni Gorosabel and Pablo Marin. There was more of that at Fulham, where he supplied a series of stops to keep Fulham at bay. The London club did manage an equaliser, but De Gea’s efforts to thwart the hosts were proved priceless when Alejandro Garnacho struck in the dying minutes to snatch all three points.
Another top display by 'developing' De Gea Video
Another top display by 'developing' De Gea
Erik ten Hag is pleased by David De Gea's "developing" distribution this season, as well as his saves of course...
ALEJANDRO GARNACHO, 2 (2) apps / 2 goals / 3 MOTMs
What a month for the 2022 FA Youth Cup winner. Garnacho enjoyed a handful of appearances in the first months of the season, but November has seen him firmly establish himself within the first team. He scored his maiden goal to earn victory on the night in the Europa League away game at Real Sociedad, then completely altered the direction of the Carabao Cup third-tie round tie with Aston Villa, inspiring the Reds to a 4-2 comeback win via two assists. The second – a gorgeous cross for Scott McTominay – had Reds everywhere purring. Not content with the two Man-of-the-Match awards from those two aforementioned games, he then settled our final game before the World Cup, against Fulham, with a nerveless injury-time winner. A first Premier League goal? Check. A third Man-of-the-Match award in four games? You bet. Erik ten Hag has urged patience with the Academy starlet, but the 18-year-old will be delighted with the progress he has made in recent weeks.
Made up your mind? If you have, don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll above. Results will be announced at 07:00 GMT on Friday 18 November.
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