‘Elite’ hipster CBs vs Maguire & Lindelöf

Maguire is good, but that was something from Lindelof. That thief he caught in Sweden must have been 90 or missing a leg.
 
Is Smalling done at Man United or does he have a chance to get back into the side?
I think emotionally he is gone. He and his family had a wonderful time living in Rome and he is desperate to go back.
 
Upgrade on what we had before but yeah they will need replacing for any future title challenge.

Easy to do with Lindelof(He will be gone by next season)but Maguire will almost be impossible to shift.
 
Need to get both of them to be properly match fit before writing them off. They did very well last year and that wasn’t a fluke.

of course adding a better CB than Lindelof will give us more choices, but these two aren’t going to be sold so waste of time begging Lindelof never plays for us again.
 
Need to get both of them to be properly match fit before writing them off. They did very well last year and that wasn’t a fluke.

It's only one season, though. There's as much every chance that it was a fluke.
 
It's only one season, though. There's as much every chance that it was a fluke.
Maybe. Time will tell.
Regardless, Lindelof will play plenty of games this season.
He just looked half a yard off the pace all game long and his positioning was also off radar, and that cost us badly.
He needs to get his body and mind into the right place quickly.
 
It is really pathetic that Maguire is mentioned in the same context as Lindelof who is a liability in almost every situation. I said it before and I'll say it again with Maguire we at least know what he is good at unlike Lindelof who isn't quick, is average with the ball, has no areal presence and can be bullied in almost every situation. I have no love for Maguire but I refuse to bash him as long as he has such a weak CB as a partner.
 
Maybe. Time will tell.
Regardless, Lindelof will play plenty of games this season.
He just looked half a yard off the pace all game long and his positioning was also off radar, and that cost us badly.
He needs to get his body and mind into the right place quickly.
He's better be. It seems like we won't get any new CB. So, it's another season he'll be United main CB.
 
Stating the obvious here, but...United aren't going to compete for League titles, never mind the CL, with Maguire and Lindelöf in central defence. It's as simple as that. They're not good enough and never will be good enough.

Indeed, the entire defence is probably the worst I can recall since following the club. Goalkeeping options, midfield and forward line is fine, and if the RW spot can be sorted before the window shuts, then those options are more than fine. But...the defence is muck by elite level standards.
 
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Smalling wouldn't be a good partner because of maguire's lack of speed.
:confused:

That's one of the main reasons Smalling is probably Maguire's best partner from the options we have. Even though I think he may have lost a touch of pace the last couple of seasons, he's still comfortably faster than any of our other centrebacks other than Bailly.

Maguire should be getting partnered by a fast centreback that is stronger defensively while also being decent on the ball and can stay fit. None of our defenders have all four attributes. Smalling has three. Lindelof and Bailly have two. Tuanzebe probably does as well, although we've seen so little of him that we don't really know. Jones and Rojo...well, what even is the point? Maybe we should just say feck it and throw Mengi in. In theory at least he seems to have all four attributes from what people say.
 
The fact we have a £100mil+ CB partnership that strikes more fear in the heart of our own fans than opposition strikers is embarrassing.

It’s to the point where performances like today are the norm against Palace et al.
 
Maguire is good, but that was something from Lindelof. That thief he caught in Sweden must have been 90 or missing a leg.
Maguire was terrible today. Three counterattacks in the second half because he's misplacing passes. Doesn't have the speed to stop the first goal. A game like this Palace were having a field day with him. Criminal to concede like we did and let Palace walk all over us in the first 15 minutes. The game played out almost perfectly for them.
 
Maguire was terrible today. Three counterattacks in the second half because he's misplacing passes. Doesn't have the speed to stop the first goal. A game like this Palace were having a field day with him. Criminal to concede like we did and let Palace walk all over us in the first 15 minutes. The game played out almost perfectly for them.
Yes he was bad today but based on last season I think he is overall a very good CB.
 
Stating the obvious here, but...United aren't going to compete for League titles, never mind the CL, with Maguire and Lindelöf in central defence. It's as simple as that. They're not good enough and never will be good enough.

Indeed, the entire defence is probably the worst I can recall since following the club. Goalkeeping options, midfield and forward line is fine, and if the RW spot can be sorted before the window shuts, then those options are more than fine. But...the defence is muck by elite level standards.
Agreed. If we ever want to challenge for the title again, we need to replace 3 of the back 4. In the modern game, we need an attacking RB, an attacking LB and a mobile fast centre half to compliment Maguire. It sickens me to say but LFC’s back 4 is the perfect modern defence to win big titles and we should be looking at that albeit they have been incredibly lucky to Stumble upon TAA and Robertson at the same time.
 
Is "elite hipster CB's" code for CB's that aren't slow and immobile as feck?

This.

In addition to being slow and immobile, one half of our defensive pairing is weak in the air and is uncertain when defending one on ones.

Elite hipster centre backs....at least they're centre backs, compared to the non footballers we have.
 
Yes he was bad today but based on last season I think he is overall a very good CB.
I don't think he's good in the kind of setup that United are playing. The defenders are dealing with way too many 1v1s. Midfielders and defenders lose the ball in dangerous places, we're not finishing our attacks which means we're there for the taking on the counter. Maguire is too lumpy and slow to handle players coming at them.
 
CB'S have always been built around partnerships because a single defender will have weaknesses that are easy to target.

Lindelof & Maguire has been built around this 'idealistic partnership' of ball playing abilities when it hardly benefits us.

The worse thing is that the partnership doesnt help each other defensively at all and is just made solely on their ability on the ball- it's okay for one to be a more progressive tackler whilst one stays back for example.


Smalling - Maguire

Bailly - Maguire

Are all better than

Lindelof - Maguire

Because the defensive game suits each other more as a partnership first.
 
CBs are becoming more crucial than CFs these days, we might be looking to strenghten the wrong areas.
I'm not one for Galactico signings but we need a titan at the back to partner Maguire.

Lindelof frustrates me no end, I just don't ever feel confident when I see him on the teamsheet.
I don't think he is good enough for Man Utd, not lived up to the hype.
 
Honest question.. if Maguire only costed us 30-40m, would people still talk about how we need a better partner for him? rather than him need to be on the bench or us getting a better first team CB?
His price tag helps him in a way that he must now be the first name on the team sheet and it's up to his CB partner to hide his weaknesses, or at least that's what I'm getting. He looks so slow sometimes and it's not up to his partner to fix it, he needs to do better.
 
Having focussed on this aspect closely in our last few games, I am convinced that Maguire is actually better "ball-playing" CB than Lindelof. When we are camped in opposition half, Lindelof usually tends to pass sideways to Maguire or the full backs where Maguire takes the responsibility of a little bit more expansive passing down the middle or switching to the other side. The reputation of Lindelof as a ball playing CB is simply due to him not being good at tackling and heading. Hence people assuming he must be actually good at technical side of things. But he isn't.

Having said that he is better than what he showed against Palace. At his best, he can be a solid 6 and we need him to quickly regain that level as we are not getting a CB this season..
 
They could work as individual players when there is pace alongside to cover their lack of,however together they are a complete liability and it's about time the penny dropped and Ole splits them up.
 
Need someone new to babysit our £80m captain, you can't write this shit.

Less said about Linelof the better.
 
Need someone new to babysit our £80m captain, you can't write this shit.

Less said about Linelof the better.
Lindelof was an absolute mess but we shouldn't forget Maguire's constant passing of the ball to Palace players. He and Pogba were great at this.
 
People going on at Maguire for today? What black magic has that Swedish coward done to you lot?
Maguire has been shocking today, mainly in his positioning and awareness of the game. He has managed to avoid pretty much every potentially dangerous episode. Lindelöf has done better in that regard but it doesn't matter if you show up when you lose every single duel you have.
 
CB'S have always been built around partnerships because a single defender will have weaknesses that are easy to target.

Lindelof & Maguire has been built around this 'idealistic partnership' of ball playing abilities when it hardly benefits us.

The worse thing is that the partnership doesnt help each other defensively at all and is just made solely on their ability on the ball- it's okay for one to be a more progressive tackler whilst one stays back for example.


Smalling - Maguire

Bailly - Maguire

Are all better than

Lindelof - Maguire

Because the defensive game suits each other more as a partnership first.
Absolutely. And it had to be said that some weaknesses cannot be covered up for in the long run if you want to aim high. For example Maguire's lack of speed can be compensated by Smalling being very quick. However Lindelof's dislike for actual defending and physical insignificance, are just too much of a hinderance.
 
As I see it it is simple as this - you can have Vidic and pair him with Evans and it can work. But Maguire is nowhere near world class CB, and add Lindelof to that story, you get this. We need at least someone as good Maguire (which is, again a little above average in terms of other world class CBs) and try to make them work.
I know this has been repeated gazillion times but we need a proper CB and another versatile midfielder (I do not even dream of getting another striker) without it, this is our season. And people will still blame Ole
 
I’ve been active in many threads saying the root problem is the board, which is obvious to everyone on this forum. However, Ole has a real weakness when it comes to sticking with the players he likes, and this shit CB partnership is a prime example of that. There are a plethora or options for him to choose from to at least replace Lindelof (Smalling and Bailly are miles better for starters), and yet he sticks with him.

I hope we get drawn against Bayern in the CL. I imagine the Lewandowski-Muller duo would never have had to play two easier games in their lives against these two. Maybe that will finally make Ole realise that this partnership will never work, as Neville rightly said. Jones and Smalling were chucked out, only to be replaced by the new chuckle brothers.
 
I’ve been active in many threads saying the root problem is the board, which is obvious to everyone on this forum. However, Ole has a real weakness when it comes to sticking with the players he likes, and this shit CB partnership is a prime example of that. There are a plethora or options for him to choose from to at least replace Lindelof (Smalling and Bailly are miles better for starters), and yet he sticks with him.

I hope we get drawn against Bayern in the CL. I imagine the Lewandowski-Muller duo would never have had to play two easier games in their lives against these two. Maybe that will finally make Ole realise that this partnership will never work, as Neville rightly said. Jones and Smalling were chucked out, only to be replaced by the new chuckle brothers.

He is right to stick with Lindelof over Bailly atleast. He latter can't stay fit. Atleast we have had stability in defence.
 
Maguire and Lindelof are Hipster CBs = CB who (supposedly) make up their shortcoming in basic defending ability by adventurous ball playing ability. Overall both are lackluster even in this aspect.

So elite hipster CB is better than average hipster CB.
 
He is right to stick with Lindelof over Bailly atleast. He latter can't stay fit. Atleast we have had stability in defence.
The thing is, no matter Bailly’s fitness, he is still a far better defender than Lindelof. He might as well put me and you at CB :lol: We’ll never get near the ball but at least we won’t get injured and there’s stability (wouldn’t do worse than him last night:nervous:)

The bottom line is, Lindelof has to go, or at least be permanently dropped to the bench.
 
As I see it it is simple as this - you can have Vidic and pair him with Evans and it can work. But Maguire is nowhere near world class CB, and add Lindelof to that story, you get this. We need at least someone as good Maguire (which is, again a little above average in terms of other world class CBs) and try to make them work.
I know this has been repeated gazillion times but we need a proper CB and another versatile midfielder (I do not even dream of getting another striker) without it, this is our season. And people will still blame Ole

If you need Vidic, Rio level of CB then we may just as well as give up. Even the best CB nowadays doesn't look like they're on same level. Our 2 starter CBs are upgradable even after the humongous fee we paid for them :nervous:. We see other teams had been able to build good defense without absolute elite CBs, so coaching does play important part.
Having focussed on this aspect closely in our last few games, I am convinced that Maguire is actually better "ball-playing" CB than Lindelof. When we are camped in opposition half, Lindelof usually tends to pass sideways to Maguire or the full backs where Maguire takes the responsibility of a little bit more expansive passing down the middle or switching to the other side. The reputation of Lindelof as a ball playing CB is simply due to him not being good at tackling and heading. Hence people assuming he must be actually good at technical side of things. But he isn't.

Having said that he is better than what he showed against Palace. At his best, he can be a solid 6 and we need him to quickly regain that level as we are not getting a CB this season..
Lindelof had a quite decent 2018/2019 season. Ball playing wise, when Ole took over Lindelof had that honeymoon period where he showed better ball playing ability than Maguire had shown for us. Ball playing is not all about dribbling with the ball, but also the distribution, which Lindelof did very well. Incisive, quick passing, bring the ball out of the defense, ambitious long ball. He had it all in those months.

Don't know what happened but nowadays we as a team, move the ball so slow, and stop trying ambitious pass. Too much sideways pass and too many touch/blind circling dribbling. Player who are less comfortable dribbling simply just pass to the like of Maguire, Pogba, Matic.
 
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It is really pathetic that Maguire is mentioned in the same context as Lindelof who is a liability in almost every situation. I said it before and I'll say it again with Maguire we at least know what he is good at unlike Lindelof who isn't quick, is average with the ball, has no areal presence and can be bullied in almost every situation. I have no love for Maguire but I refuse to bash him as long as he has such a weak CB as a partner.

This. Maguire was maybe not worth 80 million, but compare their stats from last season.

Maguire beats Lindelof in every single metric that matters for a defender, including winning twice as many aerial battles, which is pretty damn important for a CB. Last season he also got bailed out by AWB constantly, make a change on RB which leaves Lindelof to defend 1v1 and lo an behold he gets torn apart